Geology and 

Construction-Material 

Resources of Pottawatomie 

County, Kansas

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1060-C

Prepared in cooperation with State 

Highway Commission of Kansas, as part 

of a program of the Department of the 

Interior for development of the Missouri 

River basin

Geology and 

Construction-Material 

Resources of Pottawatomie 

County, Kansas

By GLENN R. SCOTT, FRANK W. FOSTER, and CARL F. CRUMPTON 

GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS OF PART OF NORTHEAST KANSAS

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1060-C

Prepared in cooperation with State 

Highway Commission of Kansas, as part 

of a program of the Department of the 

Interior for development of the Missouri 

River basin

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1959
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

FRED A. SEATON, Secretary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Thomas B. Nolan, Director

The U. S. Geological Survey Library catalog card for this publication appears after page 178.

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U- S. Government Printing Office 

Washington 25, D. C
CONTENTS

	Page 

Abstract____________________________________________________.. 97

Introduction_______________________________________________._ 98

Purpose of the investigation.. . _______________________________ 98

Geography and physiography..,._________________________ 99

Drainage. _____________________________________________ 101

Climate. ___________________________________ 102

Railways and roads-_-_--__-_-_--__________________________.._ 104

Investigation procedure.________________________________ 105

Acknowledgments. __________________________________ 105

Characteristics of the outcropping stratigraphic units ______________ _ _ . 106

Pennsylvanian system____________________________________ 109

Wabaunsee group____________________________________ 109

Scranton shale______________________________________ 109

Bern limestone-____-__-__________________-______.__. 110

Auburn shale______________________________________.__ 110

Emporia limestone_________________________________ 111

Willard shale..._..._______________________ 111

Zeandale limestone_________-________--______________-_ 112

Pillsbury shale____--_.___________.____________________ 113

Stotler limestone______________________________________ 113

Root shale___--_---__--___________-_________-_______ 114

Wood Siding formation_______________________________ 115

Permian system_______________________________________________ 116

Admire group_________-___________________________________ 116

Onaga shale________________________________________ 116

Falls City limestone___________________________________ 117

Janesville shale___-_._________________________________ 117

Council Grove group_____________________________________ 119

Foraker limestone_____________________________________ 119

Johnson shale______-______-____________________.______ 120

Red Eagle limestone___________________________________ 120

Roca shale______________________________________ 121

Grenola limestone.__________________________________ 121

Eskridge shale_______________________________ 122

Beattie limestone_____________________________________- 122

Stearns shale________________________________________ 123

Bader limestone___________________________________-__- 123

Easly Creek shale___-___________._________ 124

Grouse limestone._____________________________________ 124

Blue Rapids shale______-_______-__-___________________ 125

Funston limestone_---_----_-____--__-_________--_-____ 125

Speiser shale__________________________________________ 125

Chase group___-__--__-_---_____-__-___-____-____-___-___- 126

Wreford limestone.-____--_____-___-____-____-_-_______ 126

Matfield shale_____________________________________ 127

m
IV CONTENTS

Characteristics of the outcropping stratigraphic units Continued 

Permian system Continued

Chase group Continued Page

Bameston limestone_______-___-_-_-___-___-----_-_-___ J28

Doyle shale___________________________ 129

Pleistocene and Recent sediments_________________________ 130

Old gravel______________________________ 130

Till,... -__.__.._.____._-.____-_-______._._.__..__.. 131

Glacial outwash_____________________________________ 132

Kansan drainage changes_________________-_-_--________ 133

Glaciolacustrine deposit8______--_-_-_----_--_ _______ 135

Dune sand________________________________ _______ 136

Sanborn formation___________________________________ 136

Terrace alluvium.___________________________________ 137

Alluvium_______________________-_.-__ 138

Structure__________________________ _ ___ 139

Inventory of construction materials.--------------------------------- 140

Aggregate for concrete...______________________________________ 140

Engineering and geologic characteristics._-___-___-__--______. 140

Stratigraphic sources and performance characteristics._________ 141

Road metal_____________________._._ _________ 142

Engineering and geologic characteristics _____ _____________ 142

Stratigraphic sources and performance characteristics __________ 142

Mineral filler...______________________________________________ 144

Engineering and geologic characteristics _____ ____________ _ 144

Stratigraphic sources and performance characteristics __________ 144

Riprap_______-______-________-______--_-----_-----------_--_- 144

Engineering and geologic characteristics__. _________________ 144

Stratigraphic sources and performance characteristics __________ 145

Structural stone.-_._________________________________________ 145

Engineering and geologic characteristics_ _________________ 145

Stratigraphic sources and performance characteristics__.__.____ 145

Literature cited.___----_--_-_-_---------------------------_----_-- 147

Stratigraphic sections.___-____-_----------------------------------_ 148

Index________________________.__-___.--.--__ _ 177

ILLUSTKATIONS

Page 

PLATE 5. Geologic map of Pottawatomie County, Kansas,_.______ In pocket

FIGTTBE 5. Index map of Kansas______--_----_ __ ______________ 100

6. Physiography of Pottawatomie County, Kansas. _ ______ 101

7. Chart showing temperature ranges at Wamego, Kansas. _ _ ___ 103

8. Chart showing precipitation ranges at Wamego, Kansas.--.-. 104

TABLE

TABLE 1. Summary of tests on construction materials of Pottawatomie

County, Kansas______.___-_---_---_-___---_----_-_. In pocket
GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS OF PART OF NORTHEAST

KANSAS

GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION-MATERIAL RESOURCES 

OF POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY, KANSAS

By GLENN R. SCOTT, FRANK W. FOSTER, and CARL F. CRUMPTON

ABSTRACT

Pottawatomie County lies in northeast Kansas at the juncture of the Big 

Blue and Kansas Rivers. The Nemaha range, a long narrow anticline, trends 

southwestward across the eastern part of the county and exposes Pennsylvanian 

rocks at the surface 15 miles west of the normal outcrop area. Permian rocks 

crop out in the east and west. The chert-bearing limestone beds in the western 

part of the county underlie the Flint Hills Upland, a part of the Osage Plains. 

The Flint Hills escarpment, formed by the chert-bearing limestone beds, bifurcates; one branch follows the Big Blue River and the other follows the 

Nemaha range in the eastern part of the county.

The Kansan glacier covered all but the southwest corner of the county. The 

wind deposited a thin mantle of loess over the upland and in some valleys. 

The larger streams in the county are bordered by a series of persistent terraces.

The Pennsylvanian system is represented by the Wabaunsee group which 

consists of thin fossiliferous limestones alternating with thick unfossiliferous 

silty shale beds. Intraformational channel sandstone beds occupy part of the 

interval between some limestone beds. Less commonly the channels were cut 

downward through several limestone beds and were filled with many feet of 

sand and carbonaceous material. A shale bed 65 feet thick trends southeastward across the center of the county where the Grandhaven, Jim Creek, Nebraska 

City and Grayhorse limestone members were not deposited and shale deposition 

was continuous. Several coal beds are exposed; two are locally 18 inches thick.

The Permian rocks belong to the Admire, Council Grove, and Chase groups.

The rocks of the Admire group include several beds of coquinoidal limestone, 

a platy limestone with mudballs, an earthy limestone, an algal limestone, and 

intervening beds of variegated and tan-gray silty shale. An intraformational 

channel sandstone is extensive in the Stine shale bed of the Hamlin shale member.

Rocks of the Council Grove group are alternating massive gray limestone 

beds and unfossiliferous variegated silty and clayey shale beds. The limestone 

units are generally thicker than those in the underlying Admire and Wabaunsee 

groups, but are thinner than those in the overlying Chase group. Some shale 

beds in the Council Grove group are not variegated but are light gray and 

fossiliferous.

Cherty limestone beds separated by variegated silty shale comprise the lower 

part of the Chase group. The youngest rocks in the area are the silty chalky lime97
98 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

stone beds and silty calcareous shale beds of the middle part of the Chase group.

The pleistocene deposits are of pre-Kansan, Kansan, and post-Kansan ages. 

Deposits of pre-Kansan and Kansan chert gravel crop out on divides in the eastern and south-central parts of the county.

The Kansan glacier deposited clayey till, with erratics as much as 18 feet In 

length over all but the southwest corner of the county. The till was deeply 

weathered during post-Kansan time. The pre-Kansan channel of the Kansas 

River north of St. George was blocked with ice and subsequently filled with 

outwash which caused the river to flow southeastward through a series of spillways and diversion channels in Wabaunsee County. When the ice melted, the 

river cut its present channel south of St. George and Wamego. Fine sediments 

collected in ponds along the ice front and attained a thickness of almost 150 

feet in the northeast corner of the county.

Broad terraces were formed as alluvium filled the stream valleys in postKansan time. Along the Kansas River Valley east of Wamego four terraces 

and the flood plain were mapped. Along the smaller streams in the county, successively younger layers of alluvium were superimposed to form a single terrace 

level. The alluvium along the Kansas River ranges from 50 to 80 feet in 

thickness.

Thin discontinuous deposits of loess crop out in the western part of the county 

and on the plateau near Fostoria. The loess appears to be correlative with the 

Loveland and Peorian loess sheets, which are thicker and more continuous north 

of Pottawatomie County.

Construction materials are available in sufficient quantity and of the necessary 

quality for use as concrete aggregate, road metal, mineral filler, riprap, and 

structural stone.

Aggregate for concrete is available from the alluvium of the Kansas and Big 

Blue Rivers (source of most concrete aggregate now used), from the coarser 

glacial outwash, and from crushed limestone. Road metal is obtainable also 

from limestone gravel dredged out of small streams and from chert gravel in 

the old gravel deposits. Mineral filler is obtainable from the finer outwash and 

from the large glacial lake deposit in the northeast corner of the county. Riprap 

of good quality is obtained from the Neva limestone member of the Grenola 

limestone, Tarkio limestone member of the Zeandale limestone, Americus limestone member of the Foraker limestone, and from the Brownville limestone member of the Wood Siding formation. Eight limestone beds that vary greatly in 

color, hardness, and texture are satisfactory for structural stone. Other limestone in the area might be usable for special building purposes or for agricultural 

lime.

INTRODUCTION

PURPOSE OF THE INVESTIGATION

The U. S. Geological Survey and the State Highway Commission 

of Kansas are cooperating in the compilation of a geologic map and 

inventory of construction materials in the Missouri Kiver Basin of 

Kansas. The purpose of these investigations is to provide geologic 

maps and reports that will show the relations between the geology 

and the occurrence of construction materials. The Pottawatomie 

County report is a product of the geologic mapping and mineral resource investigation program of the natural resources studies of the
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 99

basin (Missouri Kiver Basin, 1944). A field party of the U. S. Geological Survey mapped this county during 7 summer months of 1948 

and 1949.

GEOGBAPHY AND PHYSIOGRAPHY

Pottawatomie County is in the second tier of Kansas counties south 

of the Nebraska border and in the fourth tier west of Missouri. (See 

fig. 5.) The county is bounded on the north by Marshall and Nemaha 

Counties, on the west by Riley County, on the south by Wabaunsee 

County, and on the east by Jackson and Shawnee Counties. Pottawatomie County is near the western boundary of the Central Lowland 

physiographic province (Frye and Swineford, 1949). Two subdivisions of this province (fig. 6) are recognizable in the county the 

Dissected Till Plains and Osage Plains (Schoewe, 1949, and Fenneman,19!7).

The Dissected Till Plains are further subdivided into the Kansas 

drift plains in the northeastern part of the county and the attenuated 

drift border which covers a belt extending northwestward across the 

center of the county. The Kansas drift plains include the thicker 

deposits of till (heterogeneous, unstratified, unsorted, mixture of clay, 

silt, sand, pebbles and boulders deposited directly by glacial ice) and 

loess (windblown silt) far from the ice margin. The attenuated drift 

border is the area along the margin of the glacier which is now covered 

by isolated patches of till, outwash sand or pebbles (deposited by melt 

water from the glacier in streams or ponds), or glaciolacustrine deposits (silt or clay deposited in ponds or lakes in front of the glacier) 

with associated pebbles, cobbles and boulders of glacial erratic material (transported by ice from distant source).

The Flint Hills upland, that part of the Osage Plains in the southwest corner of the county, is less conspicuous north of the Kansas 

River than south of the river. The Flint Hills escarpment bifurcates 

in Pottawatomie County, because of the distortion of the rocks by the 

Nemaha range (Eardley, 1951). One branch of the escarpment parallels the Big Blue River on the western border of the county and the 

other branch parallels the Nemaha range in the northeastern part. 

The thick flinty limestone beds are very resistant to erosion and form 

broad flat benches. The shale beds are less resistant and form the 

steep slopes between benches. Where glacial ice has moved across 

the Flint Hills, its scouring action and the deposition of till have reduced them to rolling hills. Throughout the glaciated part of the 

county the east-facing valley walls are gently sloping because of large 

accumulations of till at their bases, whereas the west-facing valley 

walls are steeper because there is less till at their bases.

Terraces have formed along the larger streams throughout the
100 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

* s

oj 

ttt

o a

35 +>

5 ^

0> »T3

* 1 

.£ 81

t S
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 101

EXPLANATION

Flint Hills upland 

of Osage Plains

Dissected Till Plains

Attenuated drift border

Kansas drift plains

FIGURE 6. Physiography of Pottawatomie County, Kans.

county but are broader in the area underlain by the softer Pennsylvanian rocks and along the Big Blue and Kansas Rivers. The terrace 

in the valley of the Kansas River at its confluence with Vermillion 

Creek is 5 miles wide; its narrowest point is a mile east of St. George 

where it is less than 1^ miles wide; its average width is 3 miles. The 

valley of the Big Blue River averages 1 mile wide but is 2 miles wide 

at Manhattan, in Eiley County.

The lowest altitude in the county, about 930 feet above sea level, is 

at the southeast corner where the Kansas Kiver leaves the county, and 

the highest altitude, about 1,520 feet, is on the dissected plateau near 

Blaine in the north-central part of the county.

DRAINAGE

The Kansas River is the principal stream in Pottawatomie County. 

An old channel of the river, prior to the flood of 1903, forms the southern boundary of the county. The present channel meanders across 

a broad flood plain that is flat except for terrace breaks and oxbow 

depressions. The former channel of the Big Blue Kiver (preceding 

the 1903 flood) marks the western boundary of the county and the 

Big Blue River joins the Kansas River a mile east of Manhattan.

467174 59 2
102 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

Spring, Carnahan, Mclntire, and Cedar Creeks in the western part 

of the county are the larger tributaries of the Big Blue Kiver. Vermillion Creek borders the axis of the Nemaha range for many miles, 

and with its major tributaries Rock, French, and Ked Vermillion 

Creeks drains the central and northeastern parts of Pottawatomie 

County and empties into the Kansas Kiver east of Wamego. Cross 

Creek drains the southeastern part of Pottawatomie County, and Clear 

Creek, a minor tributary of the Big Blue Eiver, drains the northcentral part.

CLIMATE

Pottawatomie County lies in an area where continental-type climate 

prevails; the summers are long and hot, and the winters are short 

and cold. The average annual precipitation is 32.1 inches (Flora, 

1948, p. 26 and 81). The average date of the last killing frost in spring 

is April 18, and the average date of the first killing frost in the fall is 

October 18 (Flora, 1948, p. 223 and 224). The average number of 

cloudy days is 85 a year; of partly cloudy days, about 100 a year; and 

of clear days, about 180 a year (Flora, 1948, p. 239 and 240). Temperature and precipitation are important factors in various phases of engineering construction such as pouring concrete, laying bituminous 

mat, grading, and excavation. Figure 7, a chart showing temperature 

ranges at Wamego, Kans., was compiled from climatological data for 

the years 1942 to 1950 inclusive (U. S. Weather Bureau, 1942-1950). 

The chart indicates, for the 9-year period, the number of days each 

month on which the maximum daily temperature was within the temperature range important in certain construction activities.

Days on which the maximum temperature does not exceed 32° F. 

occur from November to March, inclusive, with a maximum monthly 

incidence of 7 days in January. August, the warmest month in the 

year, has an average of 15 days in which the daily maximum temperature exceeds 90° F. The chart also shows the average difference between the daily maximum and minimum temperatures. The greatest 

difference in daily temperatures, 27° F., is in October and the least 

difference, 21.2° F., is in December.

Figure 8 shows the average number of days in which precipitation 

fell within certain ranges at Wamego, Kans. The ranges are selected 

to show the effect of precipitation on the number of working days in 

engineering construction. As based on a 9-year average (U. S. 

Weather Bureau, 1942-1950) there may be, for example, 2.2 days in 

June in which the precipitation is more than 1 inch. Most of the 

precipitation in the range above 1 inch falls as heavy showers of short 

duration. Eain falling within the ranges of less precipitation is generally light and lasts longer.
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 103

Average difre 

ence between 

daily ma 

and minimum 

temperatur

EXPLANATION

Maximum temperature more than 90°F Maximum temperature between 6I°-90°F

Maximum temperature between 41°-60°F Maximum temperature between 32°-40°F

Maximum temperature less than 32°F 

FIGOBB 7. Chart showing temperature ranges at Wamega, Kans.
104 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

Average

precipitation

in inches

EXPLANATION

Days in which precipitation 

was more than I inch

Days in which precipitation 

was between 0.11 and I inch

Days in which precipitation 

was between a trace and O.I inch

D

Days in which there was 

no precipitation

FIGURE 8. Chart showing precipitation ranges at Wamego, Kans.

RAILWAYS AND ROADS

Pottawatomie County is traversed by two main lines of the Union 

Pacific Railroad; one crosses the southern part of the county and the 

other crosses the northeast quarter.
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 105

A primary transcontinental highway, U. S. 24, crosses the southern 

part of the county. Four State highways serve the county, three 

trending north and one trending east. The county and township 

roads generally parallel section lines and most sections are accessible 

by roads.

INVESTIGATION PROCEDURE

The base used in mapping the western one-fourth of the county 

was compiled from aerial photographs (scale: 4 inches equal 1 mile) 

provided by the Soil Conservation Service of the U. S. Department 

of Agriculture. The eastern three-fourths of the county was mapped 

directly on aerial photographs (scale: 3 inches equal 1 mile) purchased from the Production and Marketing Administration of the 

U. S. Department of Agriculture. The final base (scale: 2 inches 

equal 1 mile) onto which the geologic information was transferred, 

was compiled from aerial photographs (scale: 3 inches equal 1 mile) 

by the U. S. Geological Survey; the planimetric maps were drafted 

by the Planning Department of the State Highway Commission of 

Kansas. Photographs were used for plotting culture and drainage 

and for the placement of the contact lines between adjacent stratigraphic units. Some of the mapped units are a single member; most 

of them are composed of two formations with as many as six members each. A limestone is generally used as the lower part of a map 

unit. The emphasis of the investigation is on construction materials; 

therefore other aspects such as detailed structural and paleontologic 

studies are not considered.

An effort was made to accumulate all available data pertaining to 

the construction materials in the county. These data, together with 

their sources, are incorporated in this report. In addition, the field 

party collected samples of construction materials for which data were 

not available. The samples were subjected to routine laboratory tests 

in the Road Materials Laboratory of the State Highway Commission 

at Manhattan, Kans. Two samples of aggregate material were 

analyzed with the aid of a binocular microscope in the laboratory of 

the Geology Department at Kansas State College. The results of the 

laboratory tests, and mineralogical analysis, together with the information from other sources, are presented in table 1.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Information of value to the compilation of the geologic map or 

the construction materials data included in this report was contributed by the State Highway Commission of Kansas, at Topeka, 

Kans., S. E. Horner, chief geologist (deceased 1954), and R. D. 

Finney, engineer of materials, and his associates; K. T. Sherrill, Soil
106 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

Conservation Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Westmoreland, Kans., and E. L. Walker, County Engineer, Pottawatomie 

County, Westmoreland, Kans.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE OUTCROPPING 

STRATIGRAPHIC UNITS

This discussion of the geologic units cropping out in Pottawatomie 

County emphasizes the areal distribution, general characteristics, 

thickness and the construction materials of each formation or group 

of formations. One or more representative measured sections are 

given for each formation or member. The measured sections were 

selected to show typical outcrops, or rarely, unusual outcrops of a 

unit in the county.

The areal distribution of the local stratigraphic units is shown on 

plate 5. The locations of pits, quarries, and prospects are also shown, 

on plate 5. The symbols indicate whether the pit or quarry is or has 

been operated or is a prospect, the type of construction material 

available at each site, and the quantity of the material (in units of 

10,000 cubic yards) that can be removed under no more than moderate 

overburden (unconsolidated sediments less than 6 feet thick). Materials represented on the map by vertical letters have been tested 

and are listed in table 1; those represented by inclined letters have 

not been tested and are not listed. All materials sources listed in 

table 1 are numbered within each materials classification according 

to the following plan: the numbering starts in the northeasternmost 

township and continues along the same tier to the west boundary 

of the county; it is continued in the next tier south starting again 

with the township in the easternmost range and proceeding to the 

west boundary of the county, and so on. Within a township the 

sources are numbered in the same sequence as are the sections of the 

township. Stratigraphic units exposed in Pottawatomie County are 

as follows:
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 107 

Stratigraphic units exposed in Pottawatomie County, Kansas

Era

Cenozoic

Paleozoic

System

Quaternary

Permian

Group

Chase

Council 

Grove

Formation

Alluvium

Terrace alluvium

Sanborn

Dune sand

Glaciolacustrine 

deposits

Glacial outwash

Till

Old gravel

Doyle shale

Bameston limestone

Matfleld shale

Wreford limestone

Speiser shale

Funston limestone

Blue Rapids shale

Grouse limestone

Easly Creek shale

Bader limestone

Stearns shale

Beattie limestone

Eskridge shale

Grenola limestone

Roca shale

Red Eagle limestone

Member

Towanda limestone

Holmesville shale

Fort Riley limestone

Oketo shale

Florence limestone

Blue Springs shale

Kinney limestone

Wymore shale

Schroyer limestone

Havensville shale

Threemile limestone

Middleburg limestone

Hooser shale

Eiss limestone

Morrill limestone

Florena shale

Cottonwood limestone

Neva limestone

Salem Point shale

Burr limestone

Legion shale

Sallyards limestone

Howe limestone

Bennett shale

Glenrock limestone

Thickness

0-50

0-80

0-10

0-20

0-146

0-100+

0-65

0-40

15

27-32.5

18

13

27-33

35

2-4

15-20

8-18

6-20

7-8

14-20

2-4

15-18

16+

15

2

5-6

4.5-10

10-15

3. 5-10. 5

3-6

5-7

25-30

10-20

7

8

5

1

14-17

4.5

2.4-8.7

0. 5-1. 6
108 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS 

Stratigraphic units exposed in Pottawalomie County, Kansas Continued

Era

Paleozoic

System

Permian

Carboniferous Pennsylvania^

Group

Council 

Grove

Admire group

Wabaunsee 

group

Formation

Johnson shale

Foraker limestone

Janesville shale

Falls City limestone

Onaga shale

Wood Siding

Root shale

Stotler limestone

Pillsbury shale

Zeandale limestone

Willard shale

Emporia limestone

Auburn shale

Bern limestone

Scranton shale

Member

Long Creek limestone

Hughes Creek shale

Americus limestone

Hamlin shale i

Five Point limestone

West Branch shale

Hawxby shale

Aspinwall limestone

Towle shale

Brown ville limestone

Pony Creek shale *

Qrayhorse limestone

Plumb shale

Nebraska City limestone

French Creek shale

Jim Creek limestone

Friedrich shale

Dry shale *

Dover limestone

Maple Hill limestone

Wamego shale

Tarkio limestone

Elmont limestone

Harveyville shale

Reading limestone

Wakarusa limestone

Soldier Creek shale

Burlingame limestone

Silver Lake shale

Rulo limestone

Cedar Vale shale

Thickness

16. 6-25. 6

6-7.3

35

2-4.5

72.5

2

30

1-3

20-25

0.6-4.2

6.0-22

2-3.5

8

0.4-2

7

1-1.5

28

1-2.5

15

2.5-3

17

1.8-3

24

4-8.2

28-37

2-5

20

2-2.8

25

3-5.7

1. 2-3. 3'

1-3

25-27

0-1.5

0. 4-1. 5

i Hamlin shale member is further subdivided into: Oaks shale bed (top), Houchen Creek limestone bed, 

and Stine shale bed (bottom). This subdivision appears only in text.'

8 Where intervening units are missing, the Dry shale member and Pony Creek shale member are mapped 

as undiflerentiated.
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 109

PENNSYLVANIA!! SYSTEM 

WABAUNSEE GROUP

All local Pennsylvanian rocks (about 245 feet) are well exposed in 

the southeast corner of the county and along the west flank of the 

Nemaha range from Wamego to the northeast corner of the county. 

The rocks are mostly gray and brown marine limestone, gray silty and 

clayey shale, and brown channel sandstone.

The units of the Admire and Wabaunsee groups are those recognized 

by the U. S. Geological Survey and by the Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, 

Missouri, and Oklahoma Geological Surveys (Moore and Mudge, 

1956).

SCRANTON SHALE

The Scranton shale contains in ascending order; the White Cloud 

shale member, the Happy Hollow limestone member, the Cedar Vale 

shale member, the Rulo limestone member, and the Silver Lake shale 

member. Only the latter three crop out in the county.

Cedar Vale shale member. The Cedar Vale shale member crops 

out along Vermillion Creek for 3 to 4 miles to the north and south of 

Onaga.

The member is made up of tan-gray thin-bedded sandy, silty, and 

clayey shale, and blocky siltstone and claystone beds. These beds 

are calcareous in some outcrops and contain massive beds of tan or 

maroon limestone that range from. 0.2 foot to 2.6 feet in thickness. 

Almost 20 feet of this shale is exposed in the county.

At most places a limonitic, persistent coal bed lies a foot below 

the top of the shale. The coal, called the Elmo coal, is subbituminous or lignitic, locally fossiliferous, and contains marcasite 

nodules. The thickness of the coal ranges from 0.4 foot near Onaga 

to 1.5 feet on the county line in the NW^NW1^ sec. 5, T. 6 S., R. 

12 E.

Rulo limestone member. The Rulo limestone member crops out 

along Vermillion Creek east of Onaga. At least five outcrops were 

observed, and in each the member was a massive dense hard darkgray or tan limestone that is platy or shaly and brown where 

weathered. Because of its low topographic position it does not form 

distinctive hillside benches in this county.

The limestone is lenticular, but averages 1.5 feet in thickness.

At three outcrops of the Scranton shale the Rulo limestone member 

had not been deposited; the Silver Lake shale member was deposited 

directly on the Cedar Vale shale member. The Elmo coal is present 

at two of these outcrops but is absent at the third.

/Silver Lake shale member. The Silver Lake shale member has an 

outcrop pattern similar to that of the Rulo limestone member. It is

467174 59 3
110 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

predominantly black or gray, blocky or fissile, silty or clayey shale; 

however, the upper parts of two outcrops show thin-bedded silty or 

sandy variegated shale interbedded with thin layers of sandy tan or 

gray limestone. One limestone contains calcite and marcasite nodules 

and is very fossiliferous. The thickness of the member ranges between 25 and 27 feet.

BERN LIMESTONE

The Bern limestone contains in ascending order: the Burlingame 

limestone member, the Soldier Creek shale member and the Wakarusa 

limestone member.

Burlingame limestone member. The Burlingame limestone member crops out along the walls of the valley of Vermillion Creek, 

along several of its tributaries near Onaga, and beneath a culvert 

across the old east-west highway about 2 miles west of Wamego. The 

Burlingame and the Wakarusa members form a prominent limestone 

bench.

In most outcrops it is a single persistent bed of massive conglomeratic tan or tan-gray limestone that contains flattened clay balls 

as much as an inch in length. Limonite imparts a pink stain to the 

weathered surfaces. In a few outcrops another massive tan limonitestained limestone lies above the persistent bed. The two limestone 

beds are separated by a calcareous tan-gray silty shale and both beds 

contain many large and small fusulinids. The member is from 1 

foot to 1.6 feet thick where only the lower limestone is present, but 

is almost 3 feet thick where both limestone beds are present.

Soldier Creek shale member. The Soldier Creek shale member 

crops out in about the same area as the Burlingame limestone member. The member is a blocky, micaceous olive-drab and maroon 

clayey shale or claystone, and where washed downslope, it stains 

the Burlingame limestone member shades of maroon or green. The 

shale is unusually thin in Pottawatomie County where it ranges between 1.2 and 3.3 feet in thickness.

Wakarusa limestone member. The Wakarusa limestone member 

crops out near Onaga and along the north side of the highway between St. George and Wamego. It forms a well-defined bench. This 

member consists of several massive or shaly limestone beds separated 

by thin layers of shale. The limestone is tan gray or gray and weathers tan gray, gray, light rose, or red brown; it is marked by brown 

dendritic growths of manganese oxide. Fossils are abundant in 

some parts of the limestone which is from 3 to 5.7 feet thick.

AUBURN SHALE

The Auburn shale forms a long steep slope between the Wakarusa 

and Reading benches. The shale is thin bedded to fissile, various
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 111

shades of gray and olive drab, and is sandy or silty in the lower 

part and clayey in the upper part. Some zones are calcareous. A 

fossiliferous gray nodular limestone lies near the middle of the 

formation in most outcrops. Its average thickness is 25 feet.

EMPORIA LIMESTONE

The Emporia includes in ascending order; the Reading limestone 

member, the Harveyville shale member, and the Elmont limestone 

member.

Reading limestone member. The Reading limestone member crops 

out on the northwestern flank of the Nemaha range near Havensville, 

Onaga, and Duluth and forms a conspicuous hillside bench. Three 

or, rarely, four massive hard dense fossiliferous limestone beds make 

up this member. The nonpersistent lowest bed is dark gray and 

crystalline; the second bed is gray and has fossil shells with cavities 

lined with calcite crystals; the third bed is gray and the uppermost 

bed is brown. Thin layers of silty limonitic shale separate the beds 

of limestone, which weather brown. The thickness is between 2 

and 2.8 feet.

Harveyville shale member. The Harveyville shale member forms 

a long steep slope between the Reading and Elmont limestone members. The member is composed of micaceous clayey shale with some 

sandy shale near the base. The shale is gray or dark gray with brown 

limonite stains. Zones of limonite concretions appear near the top 

of the member. A mile southwest of Onaga a channel sandstone in 

the Harveyville is in contact with the top of the Reading. The shale 

is about 20 feet thick.

Elmont limestone member. The Elmont limestone member crops 

out along the highway between St. George and Wamego, and near 

Onaga, Duluth, and Havensville. Because of its resistance to weathering and erosion, it forms a strong hillside bench.

This member is massive hard gray or dark-gray limestone that 

weathers to tan-gray or brown shaly fragments. Brown limonite 

particles lie on the weathered limestone in most outcrops and in some 

exposures clay nodules give the limestone a conglomeratic appearance. Elliptical solution channels separate the weathered blocks and 

small fusulinids project from the weathered surfaces. The thickness 

ranges from 2 feet in the northeast part of the county to 5 feet near 

St. George. The stone was once quarried east of St. George and 

probably was used as riprap along the Kansas River.

WILZAKD SHALE

The Willard shale crops out in the same areas as the Elmont limestone member. It is a gray clayey shale or tan-gray sandy limonitic 

shale with limonite nodules. Intercalated with the shale in some
112 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

places is a friable micaceous tan-gray indistinctly crossbedded sandstone. In the western part of sec. 20, T. 7 S., R. 11 E., the full thickness of the formation is crossbedded channel sandstone. The formation ranges in thickness from 28 feet near St. George, where the 

Elmont and Tarkio members are exceptionally thick, to 37 feet in other 

places where these two limestone members are of normal thickness.

ZEANDALE LIMESTONE

The Zeandale limestone includes in ascending order: the Tarkio 

limestone member, the Wamego shale member, and the Maple Hill 

limestone member.

Tarkio limestone member. The Tarkio limestone member crops out 

between Wamego and St. George and northward along the west side 

of Vermillion Creek to Havensville. Its bench is one of the most 

prominent of those formed by the limestone units in the Wabaunsee 

group. The Tarkio is a massive dense light-gray or tan-gray limestone that weathers brown slabby or blocky with large fusulinids projecting from the weathered blocks. In a quarry a mile southeast of 

St. George the member is divided into two layers and is 8.2 feet thick, 

but elsewhere in the county it is only about 4 feet thick. Three 

quarries have been opened in the Tarkio limestone member between 

Wamego and St. George to produce riprap for use along the Kansas 

River.

Wamego shale member. The Wamego shale member forms a gentle 

slope between the Tarkio and Maple Hill limestone members. The 

member consists of blocky olive-drab siltstone and claystone or gray 

clayey shale. Layers and stains of limonite are common throughout. 

Three coal beds were noted in the field: one, 0.1 foot thick, lies 6 inches 

above the base of the member; another, 0.5 foot thick, is 2 feet above 

the base; and a third, 1 foot thick, lies about 2 feet below the top. The 

two lower beds are absent in most exposures of the member. A gray 

finely conglomeratic limestone underlies the middle coal bed. In the 

SW^NWi/i sec. 15, T. 7 S., R. 11 E., a massive crossbedded channel 

sandstone occupies the interval of the Wamego shale. The member is 

about 24 feet thick.

Maple Hill limestone member. The outcrop pattern of the Maple 

Hill limestone member is similar to that of the Tarkio limestone member ; however, its bench is less well denned. The limestone is massive, 

dense, and dark gray, but weathers light brown and forms rectangular 

blocks. The member contains a great number of small fusulinids, 

which are even more abundant than usual in an outcrop in the 

SE14NE1/4 sec. 7, T. 8 S., R. 11 E. Its thickness is normally 1.8 feet 

but it is more than 3 feet thick at the outcrop cited above.
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 113

PILLSBURY SHALE

The Pillsbury shale is about 17 feet thick and forms a steep, rounded 

slope between the Maple Hill and Dover limestone members. The 

formation consists of gray silty shale or olive-drab blocky claystone. 

Sandy shale and sandstone are not uncommon in the upper part of the 

formation. Limonite stains and nodules are common in this shale, 

as they are in most of the shales in the upper part of the Wabaunsee 

group.

A massive crossbedded channel sandstone crops out in a streambank 

in the NE^SW^ sec. 18, T. 7 S., E. 11 E. A short distance south of 

that outcrop, in the NE^NWi/i sec. 19, T. 7 S., E. 11 E., a group of 

limy sandstone concretions are perched on pedestals like the pedestal 

rocks at Eock City, Kans.

STOTLER LIMESTONE

The Stotler limestone contains in ascending order; the Dover limestone member, the Dry shale member, and the Grandhaven limestone 

member. The Grandhaven limestone member was not differentiated 

in Pottawatomie County.

Dover limestone member. The Dover limestone member crops out 

between Wamego and St. George, north along the west side of the 

Nemaha range to the county line, and along the east flank of the 

range near Havensville. The bench formed by the Dover limestone 

member is flat topped and has sharply defined shoulders.

The member consists of massive dense hard gray limestone that 

weathers light brown and nodular. Because it closely resembles the 

Tarkio limestone member there is considerable difficulty in distinguishing between them in the field. Both have large fusulinids, 

but the Dover has more corals and nearly every outcrop has some 

Osagia, a gray algal nodule 1 or 2 inches in diameter, that stands out 

in relief on top of the limestone and weathers out into nodules on the 

slope. Another characteristic of the Dover limestone member is that 

the fusulinids separate from the limestone and lie like grains of 

wheat on the shale slope below the outcrop. The Dover limestone 

member is generally a foot thinner than the Tarkio.

A section of limestone 8 feet thick is exposed in the NW^NW^ 

sec. 6, T. 9 S., E. 10 E. Here a massive gray-orange molluscan limestone 1 foot thick overlies the typically fusulinid-bearing Dover limestone member and is overlain in turn by a 0.7-foot massive dark-gray 

nonfossiliferous limestone. These two thin limestone beds are considered by Mudge (Mudge, oral communication) to be the Grandhaven limestone member of the Stotler limestone as shown in measured 

section 10. The thickness of the member is generally 2.5 to 3 feet.

Dry and Friedrich shale members undifferentiated. The Dry and
114 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

Friedrich shale members occupy the interval between the Dover limestone member and the Jim Creek limestone member. The Grandhaven limestone member, which normally lies between the Dry and 

the Friedrich shale members, was not differentiated in Pottawatomie 

County. The Dry and the Friedrich shale members undifferentiated 

are gray sandy shale or olive-drab and maroon silty or clayey shale. 

Locally a thin black shale lies in the lower part. The thickness of 

these members is about 15 feet.

The Grandhaven limestone member was not differentiated during 

field mapping in the county. (See Dover limestone member.)

BOOT SHALE

The Root shale includes in ascending order; the Friedrich shale 

member, the Jim Creek limestone member, and the French Creek shale 

member. The Friedrich shale member was included with the Dry 

shale member of the Stotler limestone in the field mapping.

Jim Creek limestone member. The Jim Creek limestone member 

crops out 3 to 4 miles north of Louisville along Kansas State Route 

99, and near Onaga, Havensville, and Duluth. The limestone is not 

exposed on Jim Creek in sec. 29, T. 7 S., R. 11 E., where it is located 

in the original description of the type locality, but it crops out at 

several places along the southern and western borders of the section. 

More characteristic outcrops are in the SE14NW14 sec. 28, T. 6 S., 

R. 12 E. (road cut), and the NE^NE^ sec. 7, T. 8 S., R. 11 E. 

(stream cut).

The limestone is massive and fossiliferous. Where fresh, it is gray 

or tan mottled with light green; where slightly weathered it is tan 

gray and blocky or nodular; and where more fully weathered it is 

brown and shaly. It ranges from 1 foot to 2.5 feet in thickness.

The Jim Creek limestone member resembles the Elmont and Maple 

Hill limestone members and the Nebraska City limestone member. On 

a fresh surface the Jim Creek is tan mottled with light green; the 

Elmont limestone member is dark bluish gray; the Maple Hill limestone member is dark gray; and the Nebraska City limestone member 

is a mottled light brown and gray metallic-appearing limestone.

French Greek shale member. The French Creek shale member crops 

out in an area similar to that of the Jim Creek limestone member. In 

most places it forms a gentle slope between the Nebraska City and 

the Jim Creek limestone members. The French Creek shale member 

does not crop out along French Creek where it is located in the original description of the type locality. The nearest outcrop of French 

Creek shale is about 2 miles from French Creek where an excellent 

section is exposed in the SE^NW^ sec. 28, T. 6 S., R. 12 E.

The member consists of gray limonitic sandy shale or tan-gray silty
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 115

shale with a persistent coal bed near the top. The Lorton coal, although no more than a foot thick anywhere in the country, was mined 

in the SE*4 sec. 4, T. 9 S., R. 9 E. (Schoewe, 1946, p. 125). Because 

of its thinness and position in a stream bottom at the base of a steep 

bluff very little production has resulted. The French Creek shale 

member is about 28 feet thick.

WOOD SIDING FORMATION

The Wood Siding formation contains in ascending order, the Nebraska City limestone member, the Plumb shale member, the Grayhorse limestone member, the Pony Creek shale member, and this 

Brownville limestone member.

Nebraska City limestone member. The Nebraska City limestono 

member is limited to two outcrop areas in the county. One is a broad 

outcrop generally f ollowing Verniillion Creek and the other is confined 

to the southeastern part of the county. The Nebraska City limestono 

member is a massive single bed of metallic-gray or mottled blue and 

gray fossiliferous limestone in a fresh exposure. It weathers to u 

mottled brown and gray shaly limestone, and in a deeply weathered 

outcrop cannot be distinguished from the shale above and below it. 

The member ranges in thickness from 1 to 1.5 feet.

Plumb shale member. The Plumb shale member that lies between 

the Nebraska City limestone member and Grayhorse limestone member 

was not differentiated in the county because the two limestones wem 

not observed in a single outcrop. The shale that underlies the channel 

outcrop of the Grayhorse limestone member is gray sandy shale and 

gray and black clayey shale more than 7 feet thick.

Grayhorse limestone member. The Grayhorse limestone member 

crops out in the NW^NW^ sec. 16, T. 9 S., R. 9 E., in a bed 2 feer, 

thick on the edge of a channel in the Pony Creek sandstone, and in n 

0.35-foot bed in the NE^NW^NWi/i sec. 4, T. 9 S., R. 10 E. The 

channel outcrop exposes a gray massive sandy limestone that contain!? 

abundant pyrite nodules and large pelecypods. In the other outcrop 

the limestone is hard, slightly porous, tan to tan brown, and contains 

limonite and clay balls. It weathers blocky and has a conglomeratic 

appearance.

Dry and Pony Greek shale members undifferentiated. These bed? 

which are chiefly shale, rest on the Dover limestone member and 

are overlain by the Brownville limestone member. They crop out in a 

belt less than 3 miles wide that extends from Louisville northward 

to a point about 3 miles south of Duluth. The units that normally 

lie between the Dover and the Brownville limestone members wero 

not deposited, but instead, shale was deposited continuously.

The outstanding characteristic of the shale is the presence of sep-
116 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

tarian nodules as much as 2 feet in diameter which contain crystals of 

calcite, barite, and celestite. The shale is clayey or silty, thin bedded, 

and olive-drab to gray with limonite stains and nodules. The shale 

is about 55 feet thick.

Fine-grained micaceous sandstone crops out on the edges of the 

outcrop belt described above. It is crossbedded and lies in deep channels cut down through many feet of underlying beds. Large elliptical 

concretions of limestone with carbonized plant fragments are plentiful in the sandstone layers, and in some places are parallel to the 

crossbedded layers of the sandstone. The sandstone contains wellpreserved fossil fern leaves which are exposed in the NW^NW^ sec. 

15, T. 8 S., K. 10 E. The crossbedded layers are thin and the angle 

between bedding and crossbedding is small, suggestive of a deltaic 

depositional environment. The thickness of the sandstone probably 

exceeds 25 feet.

In the SWi/4 sec. 5, T. 10 S., R. 10 E., in Cat Creek, another sandstone bed is exposed that fills a channel cut in the Tarkio limestone 

member. The sandstone is similar to that in the channel in the Pony 

Creek mentioned in the last paragraph, but because the top of the 

channel has been eroded, correlation was not attempted.

Pony Greek shale member. The Pony Creek shale member forms 

a slope that extends from the Nebraska City limestone member up to 

the Brownville limestone member. The member is about 8 feet thick 

and mostly a gray, olive-drab, or maroon clayey shale. Fossils are 

abundant in the upper part of the shale.

Brownville limestone member. The Brownville limestone member 

forms a persistent but minor bench in its outcrop area near Maryville 

and along Vermillion Creek. The member is made up of two brown 

massive dense f ossilif erous limestone beds that weather tan and blocky 

or nodular. They are separated by a f ossilif erous tan-gray silty shale. 

The bed ranges in thickness from 2 to 3.5 feet.

PEBMIAN SYSTEM

The Permian rocks consist of thin limestone beds separated by 

thick shale beds (some of which are variegated). The rocks of the 

Admire, Council Grove, and Chase groups are about 570 feet thick.

ADMIRE GROUP

Bocks of the Admire group crop out along Vermillion Creek and 

in the southern part of the county, and are about 120 feet thick.

ONAGA SHALE

The Onaga shale contains in ascending order; the Towle shale 

member, the Aspinwall limestone member, and the Hawxby shale 

member.
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 117

Towle shale member. The Towle shale member forms a short 

slope between the Aspinwall and the Brownville limestone members. 

The shale is a lumpy or blocky clayey shale or a varicolored silty 

shale. A blocky gray or light-gray molluscan limestone that weathers nodular crops out near the top of the member. A thin sandstone 

bed was observed slightly below the middle of the member at one 

outcrop. The sandstone is not crossbedded and is consistent in its 

thickness. A channel sandstone, which cuts downward from the 

Towle shale member in Eiley and Wabaunsee Counties, is not present 

in Pottawatomie County. The member ranges from 6 to 22 feet in 

thickness.

AspinwaU limestone member. The Aspinwall limestone member 

forms a low bench marked by 2- to 3-foot rectangular blocks. The 

limestone is massive, laminated, and contains clay balls flattened 

parallel to the bedding. The clay-ball layers are hard and dense 

whereas the rest of the limestone is coarse and somewhat softer. The 

member presents a mottled appearance with brown, gray-brown, and 

tan-gray streaks. It ranges in thickness from 0.6 foot to 4.2 feet. 

Because of the regularity of its rectangular jointing, the limestone 

has had considerable use as structural stone in small bridges.

Hawxby shale member. The Hawxby shale member forms a gentle 

slope broken by a small limestone bench near its middle. Thinbedded or blocky calcareous olive-drab clayey shale constitutes most 

of the member. The lower part of the shale is variegated in places. 

Thin massive blocky or nodular dense gray limestone beds are interbedded with the shale. The thicker middle molluscan limestone bed 

contains gastropods. The bed is between 20 and 25 feet thick.

FALLS CITY LIMESTONE

The Falls City limestone forms a small rounded bench. The 

formation consists of massive dense brown resinous limestone that 

weathers to small brown blocks with brown dendritic manganese 

oxide on the block faces. The limestone is soft where fresh, but 

hard where weathered. Fossils are extremely rare in the limestone 

which is from 1 to 3 feet thick.

JANESVILLE SHALE

The Janesville shale contains in ascending order; the West Branch 

shale member, the Five Point limestone member, and the Hamlin 

shale member.

West Branch shale member. The West Branch shale member forms 

a long slope between the Five Point limestone member and the Falls 

City limestone. The member, which is about 30 feet thick, is composed of alternating shale and limestone beds. The shale is mostly

467174 59 4
118 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

black, gray, olive drab, or tan fissile or blocky clayey or silty. 

The limestone beds are tan gray or gray, massive, platy, cellular, or 

blocky. Some of the limestone beds are sandy. Fossils are locally 

abundant.

Five Point limestone member. The Five Point limestone member 

forms a prominent bench only where it is thick. This member is a 

massive hard coarse-grained tan or tan-gray coquinoidal limestone. 

The thickness is quite variable, but rarely exceeds 2 feet. Two outcrops were observed whose thickness changed from 0.2 foot to 2 feet 

within the distance of a mile. The limestone was a molluscan coquina 

at both outcrops.

The limestone is an attractive and resistant building stone especially 

near Duluth, where it is pink. A house in the NWl^NE1/^ sec. 8, T. 

6 S., R. 11 E. is built of limestone from the Reading member with 

corner blocks of limestone from the Five Point member. The house 

was built in 1870 and both types of limestone are in perfect condition.

Hamlin shale member. The Hamlin shale member is subdivided 

into three beds which are, in ascending order, the Stine shale bed, 

Houchen Creek limestone bed, and Oaks shale bed.

The Stine shale bed forms a long steep slope between the Americus 

limestone member of the Foraker limestone and the Five Point limestone member of the Janesville shale. This bed consists of calcareous 

nodular clayey shale or silty shale, variegated in the middle and upper 

parts. The two most characteristic zones in the bed are a fine 

micaceous stratified light-green 6- to 8-foot sandstone that is 22 to 

26 feet below the top, and a 3-foot cellular tan-gray limestone that is 

about 6 feet below the top. Other thin beds of tan-gray or brown 

limestone are interbedded with the shale. A micaceous sandy shale 

underlies the sandstone and in turn, is underlain by a limonitic limestone in some places. Leaf fossils and petrified wood are not uncommon in these two beds. The Stine shale bed is unfossiliferous. Its 

thickness exceeds 48 feet in one place; however, a complete section 

was not measured.

The Houchen Creek limestone bed crops out in the eastern part of 

the county and extends southward almost to Belvue. The limestone is 

resistant to weathering and is so hard and brittle that it rings when 

hit with a hammer. The upper surface has a mammillary appearance 

with small knobs comprised of algae. The limestone is tan to gray 

brown and dense and fine grained except where it contains an abundance of fossil fragments and nowhere was the bed observed to exceed 0.5 foot in thickness.

The Oaks shale bed where it crops out in the northeast part of the
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 119

county, is a maroon, tan-gray or gray-green, thin-bedded, calcareous, 

silty or clayey shale. A cavernous silt bed and lentils of noncalcareous, 

micaceous, fine-grained sandstone lie near the bottom. Thin granular 

limestone beds underlie the Americus limestone member of the Foraker 

limestone. The bed is about 24 feet thick.

COUNCIL GROVE GROUP

Bocks of the Council Grove group crop out in all but the southcentral part of the county. They comprise about 270 feet of thin limestone and thick silty shales.

FORAKER LIMESTONE

The Foraker limestone contains, in ascending order; the Americus 

limestone member, Hughes Creek shale member, and Long Creek limestone member.

Americus limestone member. The Americus limestone member 

forms a prominent bench throughout its outcrop area. It consists 

of two persistent massive dense light-gray limestone beds separated 

by thin-bedded tan-gray or olive-drab silty shale beds. Another dense 

light-gray limestone rarely underlies the two persistent beds. Both 

layers weather into large rectangular blocks that are about 1 to 1.6 

feet thick, 4 feet wide, and 6 feet long. The whole member is fossiliferous; the side of nearly every block shows fossil fragments especially crinoid columnals that have weathered in relief.

Two outcrops were observed in Pottawatomie County where algaebearing rocks similar to those in the Houchen Creek bed of the Hamlin 

shale member are part of the Americus limestone member. In the 

NWiyiSEi/i sec. 2, T. 10 S., R. 12 E., and in the SW&SE% sec. 16, 

T. 7 S., K. 11 E., partly silicified algal nodules are attached to the 

upper surface of the lower limestone. In places, another limestone 

bed underlies the two persistent beds in the Americus limestone member and this bed is more dense than the two overlying beds but was 

not observed to contain algae. The Americus limestone member 

ranges in thickness from 2 to 4.5 feet.

Hughes Creek shale member. The Hughes Creek shale member 

forms a long, and in most places, steep slope between the Long Creek 

limestone member and the Americus limestone member.

As many as seven limestone beds are interbedded with the shale 

in places. The shale is fissile to blocky. Fresh exposures of the 

fissile to blocky clayey or silty shale are tan, tan gray, or olive drab 

in the upper part and gray in the lower part. Thin beds of massive 

or platy, dense, gray, tan-gray, tan or dark-gray limestone lie between the shale beds. The sequence is very fossiliferous and is about 

35 feet thick.
120 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

Long Creek limestone member. Although the Long Creek limestone member lies between two thick shale beds, it does not form a 

very prominent bench because the shale contains many limestone beds 

that equal it in resistance to erosion. The member consists of massive 

clayey dolomitic tan or gray-brown limestone containing jasper and 

pockets of crystalline quartz, calcite, and celestite. Iron stains are 

extensive near the base. The limestone weathers nodular and porous 

except in the upper part where it weathers blocky or platy. Shale 

beds that separate the limestone beds are thin-bedded, silty and calcareous, and tan gray or dark gray. The whole member is fossiliferous ; the lower limestone beds are composed mostly of f usulinids. The 

member ranges in thickness from 6 to 7.3 feet.

JOHNSON SHALE

The Johnson shale forms a long gentle slope between the Glenrock 

limestone member of the Eed Eagle limestone and the Long Creek 

limestone member. It consists mostly of fissile or blocky silty or 

clayey shale. Most of the shale is olive drab or gray, but the lower 

part is variegated, olive drab, gray, and maroon. Iron stains are 

common; flattened clay balls are present in one shale bed; and most 

of the shale is quite calcareous. Four limestone beds measured in 

one section of the formation range from a massive dense gray limestone that weathers blocky, to a massive soft dolomitic light-gray or 

tan-gray limestone that weathers blocky or shaly. Neither the limestone nor the shale beds are fossiliferous. The member is from 16.6 

feet to 25.6 feet thick.

RED EAGLE LIMESTONE

The Red Eagle limestone is divided into the Glenrock limestone 

member, Bennett shale member, and Howe limestone member, in 

ascending order. It crops out along the Nemaha range and in the 

southwestern part of the county.

Glenrock limestone member. The Glenrock limestone member 

forms a poor bench in parts of the county because of its thinness. 

This member is a massive dense petroliferous gray or tan-gray limestone between 0.5 foot and 1.6 feet thick, it is fossiliferous, and has 

a brecciated appearance in the southwest part of the county.

Bennett shale member. The Bennett shale member forms a slope 

between the Howe limestone member and the Glenrock limestone 

member. The member is mostly a thin-bedded silty calcareous darkgray shale, and contains a massive hard clayey light-gray limestone 

about 3 feet from the top. The limestone bed weathers blocky or 

fissile and contains some fossils; the shale weathers to small light-gray 

flakes. Limonite stains are extensive in the lower part and the 

member ranges in thickness between 2.4 and 8.7 feet.
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 121

Howe limestone member. The Howe limestone member, which 

forms a poorly defined bench, consists of two or more massive tan or 

tan-gray limestone beds. The upper is harder and more resistant 

to weathering than the lower iron-stained part; however the whole 

member weathers cavernous or cellular. A blocky calcareous lightgray or tan-gray silty shale separates the limestone beds. In the 

northeast corner of the county the limestone is composed mostly of 

ostracodes, but elsewhere it is generally not fossiliferous. The thickness is about 4.5 feet.

ROCA SHALE

The Koca shale forms a long and gentle slope between the Burr 

limestone member and the Howe limestone member. This formation 

consists of blocky, hard, silty shale, and is variegated light green, 

dark green, olive drab, and maroon. The shale is calcareous throughout and contains one to three limestone beds. The limestone is impure 

and clayey, hard and dense, light gray, tan gray, or gray green, and 

is stained by limonite. The formation ranges between 14 and 17 feet 

in thickness.

GEENOLA LIMESTONE

The Grenola limestone includes, in ascending order; the Sallyards 

limestone member, Legion shale member, Burr limestone member, 

Salem Point shale member, and Neva limestone member.

Sallyards limestone member. The Sallyards limestone member, 

although extensive, is too thin to form a bench. It is a massive hard 

dense light-gray limestone that weathers blocky. The upper part is 

fossiliferous in some outcrops and the member averages slightly less 

than a foot in thickness.

Legion shale member. The Legion shale member forms an upper 

extension of the Roca slope and is a blocky olive-drab silty shale 

slightly calcareous and stained with iron. It weathers to small tangray chips and is about 5 feet thick.

Burr limestone member. The Burr limestone member forms the 

lower part of a compound bench consisting of the thick Neva limestone member, thin Salem Point shale member, and thick Burr limestone member. The member consists of two limestone beds separated 

by shale. The limestone is massive, fine-grained, tan-gray and fossiliferous. The upper part is soft and porous with small cavities and 

weathers blocky; the lower part is hard and clayey and weathers 

blocky or shaly. The shale is a black or olive-drab clay and is fissile. 

The member is about 8 feet thick.

Salem Point shale member. The Salem Point shale member forms 

a steep but short slope between the Neva limestone member and the 

Burr limestone member. This member consists of about 1 feet of
122 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

blocky or fissile silly or clayey shale with 1 or 2 thin shaly dark-gray 

fossiliferous limestone beds in the middle. The shale is dark gray 

or olive drab. Pyrite nodules and iron stains are common in the limestone beds.

Neva Umestone member. The Neva limestone member forms a 

more prominent bench than the underlying Burr limestone member 

but less prominent than the overlying Cottonwood limestone member 

of the Beattie limestone. This member consists of a massive light 

gray fine-grained limestone with small tan-gray porous spots. In a 

fresh exposure or on a quarry face the member appears to be a single 

bed; however, when weathered it breaks down to 4 or 5 limestone beds 

with intervening beds of silty shale. Upon weathering, the upper part 

becomes cellular and the lower part slightly platy. The member 

which is fossiliferous throughout, is between 10 and 20 feet thick.

ESKRIDGE SHALE

The Eskridge shale forms a steep slope between the Cottonwood 

limestone member of the Beattie limestone and the Neva limestone 

member of the Grenola limestone. Its area of outcrop is about the 

same as that of the Cottonwood. This formation is a variegated shale 

that consists of light-gray and light-green platy or nodular silty shale 

in the upper part, and maroon, light-green and pink bloeky silty 

shale near the base. Most sections contain one or more thin hard 

gray limestone beds; the shale is somewhat calcareous throughout. 

The thickness range is between 25 and 30 feet.

BEATTIE LIMESTONE

The three members of the Beattie limestone are, in ascending order; 

the Cottonwood limestone member, Florena shale member, and Morrill 

limestone member.

Cottonwood limestone member. The Cottonwood limestone member crops out from the northeastern corner of the county southward 

almost to Belvue; from the north-central part of the county southward 

through Wheaton, Westmoreland, and nearly to the southwest corner 

of the county; and along the Big Blue Kiver in the southwest and 

northwest parts of the county. This limestone forms a characteristic 

shrub-lined bench that is unlike the bench of any other limestone in 

this county. The shoulder is sharp and the limestone is resistant to 

weathering and erosion even after the overlying beds have been removed. The Cottonwood member is a massive light-gray porous 

limestone, which weathers platy in its lower part. It contains chert 

nodules that stand out conspicuously upon weathering. Although the 

limestone is soft on a fresh surface it casehardens when exposed to 

the atmosphere. Fusulinids are abundant in the middle and upper 

parts and the limestone ranges in thickness from 5 to 7 feet.
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 123

This limestone has been used more than all others in the county 

for construction purposes and is particularly useful as structural 

stone, crushed stone for concrete aggregate, and as road metal.

Florena shale member. The Florena shale member has about the 

same outcrop area as the Cottonwood limestone member. It forms 

the lower part of the slope between the Eiss limestone member of the 

Bader limestone and the Cottonwood limestone member. The Florena 

is a thin-bedded gray calcareous silty shale with small blocky limestone beds in some places. The extremely f ossilif erous shale is readily 

identified by its characteristic faunal suite. Nodules of chalcedony 

immediately underlie the Morrill member in some outcrops. The 

Florena ranges from 3 to 6 feet in thickness.

MorriU limestone member. The Morrill limestone member crops 

out in about the same area as the Cottonwood limestone member. 

Because it is thin and only a short distance above the Cottonwood 

limestone member it rarely makes a bench, but generally is part of the 

slope between the Eiss limestone member and the Cottonwood limestone member. The Morrill member generally consists of two or 

more gray or light-gray limestone beds separated by thin shale beds. 

The limestone is dense, hard, is fossiliferous, and contains some beds 

that are petroliferous. The partings are mostly light-gray clayey 

shale. Cellular or spongy limestone is commonly present, as on the 

east side of sec. 6, T. 8 S., R. 12 E., and NW*4 sec. 11, T. 8 S., K. 9 E., 

and in some places contains calcite geodes. The member averages 

3.5 feet in thickness. One unusually thick section of the Morrill 

was discovered in the SW^NWi/i sec. 10, T. 6 S., K. 8 E. Here 

the limestone is 10.5 feet thick and consists of six limestone beds with 

no shale. This area might have great promise as a source of crushed 

limestone because the Florena is only 3.8 feet thick and the underlying Cottonwood is 7 feet thick making a total of 17.5 feet of limestone 

with only a thin shale intervening between the two thick limestones.

STEARNS SHALE

The Stearns shale forms the upper part of the slope between the 

Eiss limestone member and the Cottonwood limestone member. This 

formation is a varicolored blocky clayey shale. Thin limestone beds 

are common and the shale is slightly calcareous throughout. The 

limestone beds weather shaly or fissile and the shale weathers to 

small chips. The thickness ranges from 10 to 15 feet.

BADER LIMESTONE

The Bader limestone includes, in ascending order: the Eiss limestone member, Hooser shale member, and Middleburg limestone 

member.
124 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

Eiss limestone member. The Eiss limestone member forms a welldeveloped low bench between Havensville and Enunett in the eastern 

part of the county. This bench also crops out north of Westmoreland 

in the central part of the county, along the Big Blue River in the southwestern part of the county, and near the northwest corner of the 

county. The upper limestone in this member is massive and slightly 

pitted when fresh, but weathers cavernous. The shale that separates 

this from the lower limestone is a fossiliferous calcareous light-gray 

clayey shale. The lower light-gray limonitic limestone is also fossiliferous and is conglomeratic in the lower 0.1 foot. The member is 

between 4.5 and 10 feet thick.

Hooser shale member. The Hooser shale member forms a short 

gentle slope between the Eiss limestone member and the Middleburg 

limestone member and has an area of outcrop similar to that of the 

Eiss limestone member. The member varies in texture between silty 

shale at the top and clayey shale at the bottom. Calcium carbonate 

nodules are scattered throughout the lower part of the shale and the 

upper part is slightly calcareous. The shale is light-gray, gray, olivedrab, and maroon. It is about 5 or 6 feet thick.

Middleburg limestone member. The Middleburg limestone member crops out in the north-central, southwestern, and east-central parts 

of the county and because of its thinness does not form a prominent 

bench. The Middleburg member is a massive, dense, gray or tan-gray 

fossiliferous limestone, is stained with limonite spots, and in places, 

has a mottled gray, tan-gray granular appearance. A thin dark-gray 

shale divides the limestone into two parts. The member rarely exceeds 2 feet in thickness and is generally about 1.5 feet thick.

EASLY CREEK SHALE

The Easly Creek shale crops out over most of the western part of 

the county, as well as south of Havensville and west of Emmett. It 

forms a steep slope between the thick Grouse limestone and the Middleburg limestone member of the Bader limestone. The formation is 

about 15 feet thick and consists of blocky calcareous clayey or silty 

shale that is variegated light gray, olive drab, and maroon. The 

colored layers are thinner than those in other variegated shales in the 

county.

GROUSE LIMESTONE

The Grouse limestone forms a triple bench that is not sharp but is 

easily recognizable on aerial photographs. It crops out south of 

Havensville, west of Emmett, and in the western part of the county. 

The Grouse limestone is platy, dense, and light gray in the upper 

part. The middle massive bed and the lower massive bed are separated from each other and from the upper limestone by 1 to 6 feet 

of tan-gray clayey shale. The lower limestone weathers cavernous.
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 125

The limestone beds and the shale beds are somewhat fossiliferous. 

The middle and lower limestones are softer than the upper limestone 

and have a chalky, granular appearance. Where the formation 

forms a double bench, a 2-foot shale divides the two 4-foot limestone 

beds. The member is more than 16 feet thick.

BLUE RAPIDS SHALE

The Blue Rapids shale crops out in both the eastern and western 

parts of the county, but is seldom seen in its entirety because it underlies the covered slope between the Grouse limestone and the Funston 

limestone. This formation is a platy to blocky calcareous silty clayey 

shale. The shale is variegated maroon, light green and gray in softer 

shades than the Blue Springs shale member of the Matfield shale and 

the Speiser shale. Calcareous nodules are abundant and amethyst 

crystal pockets are characteristic of the shale near Lake Pottawatomie. This section of the Permian strata, from the Blue Rapids 

shale through the Havensville shale member of the Wreford limestone, near Blaine and Lake Pottawatomie contains siliceous material in great abundance especially quartz crystals, chert, and chalcedony. The Blue Rapids shale is from 15 to 18 feet thick.

FUNSTON LIMESTONE

The Funston limestone crops out in both the eastern and western 

parts of the county, but forms a much more prominent bench in the 

east because of its increased thickness and more massive character. 

The limestone is massive, porous, soft in the upper part, hard in the 

lower part, tan gray with a mottled salt and pepper appearance on 

a fresh surface, and weathers dark gray and cavernous. Near Blaine, 

the limestone contains a layer of chert nodules that have a casehardened calcareous layer on the outside with a core of blue-gray chert. 

Chalcedony nodules are common in the lower part of the limestone 

at outcrops containing chert. In these outcrops the member is divided 

into three layers whereas elsewhere it is one massive bed. The limestone ranges from 2 to 4 feet in thickness but is generally about 2.5 

feet thick.

SPEISER SHALE

The Speiser shale crops out most extensively in the western part 

of the county, but it also crops out on the plateau east of the Nemaha 

range. This formation is a variegated blocky clayey shale, with 

stripes of maroon, light green, and gray shale about one foot thick. 

A persistent gray 5-foot thick limestone crops out 1 to 2 feet from 

the top of the member and is separated from the Threemile limestone 

member of the Wreford limestone by a gray fossiliferous clayey shale. 

The Speiser shale ranges from 14 to 20 feet in thickness.

467174 59 5
126 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

CHASE GROUP

The Chase group crops out mostly in the western half of the county. 

The Wreford limestone is also exposed between Havensville and St. 

Clere. About 180 feet of this group, consisting mostly of thick cherty 

limestones and variegated shales, is exposed in the county.

WREFORD LIMESTONE

The Wreford limestone is subdivided into the following members, 

in ascending order; the Threemile limestone member, Havensville 

shale member, and Schroyer limestone member.

Threemile limestone member. The Threemile limestone member 

crops out over the western part of the county and southeast of Havensville and west of Emmett in the eastern part. Its bench is more conspicuous than the bench on the Schroyer and is easy to follow because 

of the large light-gray blocks that mark its edge. This member is the 

most persistent in thickness and lithology of all the cherty limestone 

beds in the county. It generally has a foot-thick massive light-gray 

finely crystalline limestone bed at the top and alternating 5-inch 

bluish-gray chert layers and 18-inch gray limestone layers below. In 

some sections this excellent sequence is interrupted by thin gray silty 

shale partings that evidently take the place of the chert beds in a 

slightly different depositional environment. Fossils are abundant and 

are especially well preserved on the outside of the chert nodules. The 

member ranges in thickness between 7 and 7.8 feet throughout the 

county.

The Threemile limestone member has been quarried for road metal, 

however the sharpness of crushed chert fragments makes it less 

suitable for this purpose than other available limestone. It has also 

been used for structural stone, but because the layer used contained 

chert nodules, every block that was observed had split beddingwise 

around the chert nodules. The top noncherty layer might be suitable 

for structural stone; however, excessive slaking of material from this 

layer was observed in the riprapped dam of Lake Pottawatomie.

Havensville shale member. This member crops out in the western 

part of the county, east as far as Wheaton, and at the type locality 

southeast of Havensville. It forms the slope between benches of the 

Schroyer limestone member and the Threemile limestone member. 

The Havensville shale member varies widely in lithology, but generally it is a fissile calcareous silty or clayey shale with cellular limy 

beds and limestone layers as much as 3 feet thick. Locally the shale 

contains chalcedony nodules and quartz crystals. In most places the 

member is very fossiliferous and one limestone bed is pelecypod 

bearing. The shale is tan gray or gray with an olive cast and locally 

has a black fissile layer at the base. The thickness ranges from 6 to
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COTJNTY 127

20 feet but is generally about 18 feet. The extreme thinness at places 

is attributed to removal of the upper part by submarine currents before deposition of the thick crossbedded Schroyer limestone member* 

Schroyer limestone member. The Schroyer limestone member 

crops out in the northern and western part of the county as far 

east as Wheaton and along the eastern flank of the Nemaha range 

southeast of Havensville. The bench of the Schroyer limestone member is well developed except where it is obscured by the steep slope 

of the Matfield shale. The Schroyer limestone member consists of 

an upper massive light-gray coarse limestone and calcareous silty 

shale. Slightly above the middle is a cherty tan-gray fossiliferous 

limestone bed that is 2 to 6 feet thick in the western part of the 

county and slightly thicker in the eastern part. Below this are tangray calcareous silty shale beds, platy tan-gray limestone beds, and 

in some places a crossbedded massive gray crystalline limestone that 

contains flattened mud balls and which weathers platy. In the eastern 

part of the county the principal unit is the 6- to 8-foot thick cherty 

limestone; however it is interbedded with subordinate noncherty limestone beds and thin shale beds. The member ranges between 8 and 

18 feet in thickness and is generally about 12 feet thick except in the 

western part of the county where the limestone is 18 feet thick.

MATFIELD SHALE

The Matfield shale is subdivided, in ascending order, into the 

Wymore shale member, Kinney limestone member, and Blue Springs 

shale member.

Wymore shale member. The Wymore shale member is generally 

covered by colluvium from the overlying deposits and thus was seen 

in only a few stream cuts where it crops out in the western half of 

the county. The member is a thin-bedded silty shale. At one exposure 

it is tan gray in the upper part and maroon in the lower part. 

Most other exposures show it to be tan-gray or light-gray shale. A 

small deposit of gypsum was discovered at a spring issuing from the 

base of the Wymore in the NW^4SW^4 sec. 7, T. 7 S., R. 8 E. The 

Wymore shale member is 15 to 20 feet thick.

Kinney limestone member. The Kinney limestone member crops 

out in the western half of the county. Because it does not form a 

strong bench, it generally forms part of the long slope below the 

Florence limestone member. One of the few good exposures shows 

it to be a massive soft fine-grained light-gray limestone that weathers 

gray and shows yellow cavities. In some places it consists of two 

limestones separated by a shale parting. This member is from 2 to 

4 feet thick.

Blue Springs shale member. The Blue Springs shale member is
128 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

exposed best in artificial excavations and stream cuts because of its 

position under the resistant Florence limestone member of the Barneston limestone. It crops out in the western half of the county and is 

a blocky light-gray silty shale in the upper part but grades downward into a vivid variegated shale composed of light-green, maroon 

and brown layers, each about 2 to 3 feet thick. The Blue Springs shale 

member is about 35 feet thick.

BARNESTON LIMESTONE

The Barneston limestone is divided into the Florence limestone 

member, Oketo shale member, and Fort Riley limestone member, in 

ascending order.

Florence limestone member. The Florence limestone member caps 

most of the buttes in the western half of the county. Erosion has 

produced sharp shoulders and steep slopes that fall away from the 

tablelike bench of this member. The Florence limestone member 

forms the most conspicuous bench of any limestone in the county. 

This bench and slope are confined to the section between the Florence 

limestone member and the Schroyer limestone member of the Wreford limestone in most places, but along Bluff Creek a much steeper 

slope exposes a section from the Florence limestone member to the 

Neva limestone member of the Grenola limestone. The top 24 feet 

of the Florence limestone member is a massive 8-foot bed of bluishgray chert nodules alternating with beds, 6 feet thick, of dense lightgray limestone. Almost all the chert nodules are shattered and split 

away from their matrix. This phenomena is probably caused by 

water and frost action and certainly facilitates erosion. The lower 

part of the member is made up of alternating beds of cherty gray 

limestone and gray calcareous silty shale. The chert nodules in the 

lower part are separated and are flattened parallel to the bedding. 

The chert in the upper part, which is in distinct beds 8 to 10 inches 

thick, appears to weather out as nodules. The Florence limestone 

member averages about 30 feet thick with a maximum thickness of 

33 feet and a minimum thickness of 27 feet.

Oketo shale member. The Oketo shale member forms a gentle slope 

between the Fort Riley limestone member and the Florence limestone 

member in the northwestern part of the county. This member is a 

calcareous gray or tan-gray silty shale with thin massive gray limestone beds. Both the shale and the limestone are extremely fossiliferous. In many places the Oketo shale member erodes to form a lightgray barren slope between the Fort Riley and Florence limestone 

members. The member is about 13 feet thick.

Fort Riley limestone member. At most places the Fort Riley limestone member forms a low, sharply defined bench above the bench
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 129

formed by the Florence limestone member. Immediately north of 

Garrison, however, it forms the cap on a steep unbroken hill with 

sediments exposed from the Grouse limestone through the Fort Riley 

limestone member. The Fort Riley limestone member crops out only 

in the northwestern part of the county. Because of its commercial 

importance as a source of building stone it is mapped separately from 

the rest of the Barneston limestone.

The Fort Riley member is composed of layers of massive tan-gray 

coarse limestone in its upper part and thin-bedded calcareous silty shale 

and shaly fine-grained limestone in the lower part. The latter limestone becomes harder toward the southwest and is the near-basal rimrock at Fort Riley Military Reservation. Small limonite-stained 

cavities and pockets of calcite crystals are characteristic of the upper 

rimrock bed. Both the massive upper limestone and the shaly basal 

limestone are fossiliferous. The maximum thickness of the Fort 

Riley limestone member is probably 18 feet, however only partial 

sections could be found that were well enough exposed for 

measurement.

DOYLE SHALE

The Doyle shale consists of, in ascending order: the Holmesville 

shale member, Towanda limestone member, and the Gage shale member, which does not crop out in Pottawatomie County.

Holmesville shale member. The Holmesville shale member crops 

out in the northwest corner of the county where it forms a gentle 

slope between the benches of the Towanda limestone member and the 

Fort Riley limestone member of the Barneston limestone. The member consists of alternating layers of shale and limestone. The shale 

beds are tan gray or tan, and vary from lumpy to nodular or thin 

bedded and clayey, to blocky and silty or limonitic and sandy. All 

of the shale is calcareous and some layers contain open calcite pockets. 

The limestone beds range from 0.4 foot to 6 feet in thickness. Tangray silty limestone that weathers slightly spongy, hard, brown, and 

crystalline, or soft, tan-gray, and nodular with calcite crystal pockets, 

is common in most outcrops. The member ranges from 27 to 32.5 

feet in thickness. Complete, well-exposed sections of the Holmesville 

shale member are difficult to find because it is so near to the top of the 

beds that are preserved in the county, and most of these younger beds 

are stripped away.

Towanda limestone member. The Towanda bed was named by 

R. C. Moore (Wilmarth, 1938, p. 2172) for outcrops in the western 

part of the El Dorado field near Towanda, Kansas. The limestone 

is now considered to be a member of the Doyle shale (Moore and 

others, 1951, p. M).
130 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

The Towanda limestone member is stratigraphically the highest 

bedrock unit to crop out in Pottawatomie County. It crops out 

northwest of Olsburg in the northwestern corner of the county. This 

member is a tan-gray platy to massive fine- to coarse-grained crystalline limestone that forms a gently rounded bench above the Fort Riley 

limestone member of the Barneston limestone. It contains pockets 

of calcite crystals and weathers to porous crumbly yellowish nodules. 

Thin layers of calcareous tan shale separate some of the platy limestone beds. The finer grained layers of limestone contain a large 

quantity of silt. Although only 14.2 feet of the Towanda limestone 

member is exposed, it probably never was much thicker anywhere in 

Pottawatomie County.

PLEISTOCENE AND RECENT SEDIMENTS

The surficial deposits in Pottawatomie County belong to the Pleistocene and Recent series of the Quaternary system. They were deposited and reworked by streams, lakes, glaciers, and wind.

Pre-Kansan streams deposited gravel on areas that are now the 

higher divides in the area. The Kansan glacier overrode all except 

the southwestern corner of the county and plastered till on the divides, 

filled the valleys with glacial outwash, and filled local depressions 

in the till with pond deposits of silt and clay. Illinoian and Wisconsin winds blew silt and clay-size particles from the glacial drift 

and deposited them as a thin layer, rarely of mappable thickness. 

Streams alternately scoured their valleys and filled them with large 

accumulations of alluvium.

OLD GRAVEL

Overlying the bedrock on the high bluffs along the north wall of the 

Kansas River Valley between St. George and Wamego are thin but 

extensive deposits of gravel composed of chert pebbles. The rounded 

chert pebbles which were derived almost entirely from the cherty 

Wreford and Barneston limestone beds, are bound together with 

reddish-brown plastic clay that contains a small amount of coarse 

sand. The clay binds the deposit so firmly that, when dry, the gravel 

fractures through the chert pebbles rather than around them. Most 

of the pebbles have a black coating of manganese oxide or a reddishbrown coating of ferric oxide. Thin layers of clay or sand are occasionally interbedded with the gravel, as may be seen in a pit in the 

NW*4NE}4 sec. 12, T. 10 S., R. 9 E. Glacial erratics (ice-transported 

rock fragments from a distant source) are absent in these deposits, but 

are found in the glacial outwash of this area.

Other deposits of old gravel occur near Myers Valley on Wilson 

Branch of Rock Creek, and on Pleasant Run Creek. These deposits
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 131

are overlain by till and occupy high points in a valley that was widened 

and deepened by streams flowing along the front of the melting 

Kansan glacier. The glacial erratics intermingled with the upper 

part of some of these chert gravel deposits indicate overriding by ice 

or re working by outwash streams.

Cherty gravel of Kansan age crops out from Westmoreland to 

Moodyville along Eock Creek and the East Fork of Eock Creek. 

Small erratics are common in the gravel. These deposits, possibly 

till, contain more than 18 percent of clay and are firmly compacted.

One of the largest deposits of old gravel is 1 mile east of Emmett, 

where the deposit is about 40 feet thick and consists of sand and 

pebbles, and boulders as large as 2 feet in maximum dimension. The 

upper 4 feet of the deposit is firmly cemented by calcium carbonate. 

Most layers are loose or friable but some are compacted with clay. 

Limestone fragments are almost as abundant as chert in this deposit. 

This gravel also is overlain by till, and glacial erratics observed in 

the upper part of the gravel indicate some reworking by the Kansan 

glacier or by its outwash streams.

Another large deposit of old gravel lies a mile northeast of Havensville. Limestone fragments are more abundant than chert, and some 

slabs exceed 2 feet in maximum dimension. The deposit is more than 

i!0 feet thick and is overlain by till.

The old gravel probably is the deposit of pre-Kansan streams that 

eroded the material from weathered benches of limestone and shale.

TILL

The unstratified deposits of the Kansan glacier are called till. Because the glacier entered the county from the northeast it left the 

thickest accumulations of till on the northeast-facing valley walls. 

All of the major boulder fields are on northeast-facing hillsides 

where they were dropped as the glacier overrode the hill. Till mantles 

all of the highland areas in the glaciated part of the county.

Although the till resists erosion by rills flowing on it, headward 

(jutting of streams erodes it easily. Vertical fractures in the clayey 

till allow large blocks to cave as the streams undercut.

The till in the county is either clayey or silty. Clayey till is the 

predominant type and is similar to the till that crops out over most 

of northeastern Kansas and eastern Nebraska. The oxidized clayey 

till is orange red or red brown; the unoxidized till is dark gray. 

Generally, entire vertical sections of till are leached.

Seventeen samples of till show a range in grain size from 44 to 94 

percent minus 200 mesh (U. S. Standard sieve series), and average 

75 percent minus 200 mesh; one-half or more of the material may be 

clay, and the rest silt. Of the 25 percent of the material that is
132 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

retained on the 200 screen, the larger part is sand, the next largest 

fraction is composed of pebbles.

Glacial erratics more than 18 feet long were observed in the till. 

The clay makes the till very compact, but causes it to shrink when 

dry, and polygonal cracks characterize almost every outcrop. When 

eroded, the pebbles and boulders that remain after the fine material 

has been removed form a lag pavement on the outcrop.

The silty till crops out near Duluth and northwest of Aikins. In 

both places it is friable; a sample collected near Duluth contains 

93 percent minus 200 mesh material most of which is silt. Striated 

pebbles and cobbles were found in the deposits at Duluth. The till 

near Aikins includes a skeletal block of limy silt containing angular 

chert fragments that before weathering was a mass of cherty limestone about 4 feet long. The upper part of the silty till is leached, 

but the lower part is strongly calcareous.

The rock fragments in the till are mostly quartzite, although some 

are chert, quartz, granite, greenstone, limestone, and feldspar. Of 

these, the granite, greenstone, and limestone are generally decomposed 

and much of the chert is divitrified. Petrified wood, agate and clay 

ironstone are found in places.

The clayey till was derived from the reworking of weathered limestone and shale. This clay and silt was added to the mass of detritus 

which was being pushed forward and overridden by the glacier. 

Although a small amount of the till is composed of erratic fragments 

that were moved hundreds of miles, most of it is composed of material which was moved less than 10 miles from its source.

The silty till was probably deposited by a glacier overriding its own 

glaciolacustrine deposits (glacial materials deposited in a pond or 

lake) during a readvance that followed a period of stagnation.

GLACIAL OTITWASH

The stratified deposits of the glacier melt water streams are called 

glacial outwash. In the area north of St. George the outwash is fine 

sand and silt, and in the area 2 miles east of Louisville it is coarse 

sand with some small pebbles.

The deposit north of St. George occupies an area of about 40 square 

miles and is more than 100 feet thick over almost one-half of this 

area. This thick and extensive deposit is due to the existence in the 

area of the pre-Kansan channel of the Kansas River which was filled 

with outwash by melt water from the Kansan glacier. Eleven samples 

of the outwash from this area contain an average of 45 percent minus 

200 mesh material most of which is silt and 55 percent sand (most 

of which is fine sand). The upper part of the outwash is cemented 

by calcium carbonate in some places. Ferric oxide causes the red-
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 133

brown stain below the humic layer. In the NW^4NEi4 sec. 25, T. 9 S., 

E. 9 E., limonite has been leached from the upper light-gray part of 

a soil profile characterized by distinct horizons and concentrated in 

a one-half inch layer that is itself being leached and reconcentrated 

in a lower reddish-brown sandy outwash. The outwash is less clayey . 

and less stained toward the bottom. Fine deltaic crossbedding is 

common; an example of white well-rounded fine sand is well displayed in a road cut in the SW^NW^ sec. 7, T. 10 S., R. 9 E. Thin 

ibands of coarse sand and clay flakes are interbedded with the fine 

sand. Despite an apparent lack of cement, the sand at this outcrop 

stands in a vertical bank. Another outcrop of crossbedded sand 

interbedded with glaciolacustrine clay is in the SW^NW^SE^ sec. 

22, T. 9 S., R. 9 E. Here alternating beds of lacustrine clay and both 

crossbedded and nonstratified sand are overlain by till. (See section 

on glaciolacustrine deposits for more detail on the lacustrine clay.) 

Other deposits that show reworking or disturbance of the outwash 

by ice are in the NW^NE^ sec. 21, T. 9 S., R. 9 E., and in the 

SEi^NW^NW^ sec. 16, T. 9 S., R. 9 E.

The area 2 miles east of Louisville is underlain by outwash (ma 1 

in table 1) composed mostly of sand with some pebbles. Almost no 

Local material is incorporated in this deposit. The outwash was probably deposited by Vermillion Creek or by the coalescing Vermillion 

Creek and Rock Creek late in the Kansan glacial age.

Another deposit of outwash northwest of St. Marys contains a considerable proportion of chert admixed with erratics. Here layers of 

carved glaciolacustrine clay are interbedded with layers of sand. In 

one pit the gravel is cemented by calcium carbonate to form a mortar 

bed.

Outwash sand is exposed on the highland northwest of Onaga, and 

outwash gravel crops out 2 miles northwest of Havensville and on 

the county line 3 miles north of Duluth.

KANSAN DRAINAGE CHANGES

When the centerline for U. S. Highway 24 was drilled north of 

St. George, the State Highway Commission of Kansas (Burton and 

Bearman, 1949) discovered that the southeast valley wall of the preKansan Kansas River descended from station 316 (NE^SE^ Sec. 3, 

T. 10 S., R. 9 E.) to station 291 (NE^SWi/i sec. 3, T. 10 S., R. 9 E.), 

and determined the altitude of the valley floor at station 291 to be 

998 feet above sea level. Several holes drilled near station 215, iy2 

miles southwest of station 291, show the Elmont limestone to be 995 

feet above sea level or about the same altitude as the present Kansas 

River at St. George.

No outcrops of bedrock were observed for 3 miles northwest of this

467174 59 6
134 GEOLOGT AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

valley wall. A belt 3 miles wide, without bedrock outcrops (pi. 5) 

trends northeast to Eock Creek where it turns southeast through 

Louisville to the junction of Vermillion Creek and the Kansas River. 

Kock Creek now flows in a valley whose great width is out of proportion to the small volume of water flowing in it.

The Kansan glacier moved southwestward across the county until 

its northwest-trending front stagnated a mile north of St. George. 

The Kansas Eiver was dammed and Kaw Lake (Hay, 1893, p. 5; 

Smyth, 1898, p. 95-104; Todd, 1917, p. 187-199) filled the valley west 

of St. George. After a slight withdrawal of the glacier from its 

line of greatest advance, the lake waters found an outlet around 

the ice front, across a divide 1 mile southeast of St. George, and 

through a series of glacially dammed lakes and topped divides until 

it finally flowed back into the Kansas River through Wakarusa Creek 

in Shawnee County (Todd, 1908, p. 107-112; Mudge and Burton, 

1959 ;Mudge, 1955).

Further withdrawal of the glacier was accompanied by accelerated 

deposition of outwash which kept the pre-Kansan channel of the 

Kansas Kiver filled, and prevented release of Kaw Lake waters through 

this channel. Withdrawal of the ice undammed all of the lakes except 

Kaw Lake and caused the abandonment of the complicated diversion 

channel system. The water from Kaw Lake continued to flow through 

the newly cut narrow gap southeast of St. George, but it now flowed 

into a stream rather than into a lower lake, and followed the course 

of a small tributary valley northeast to its junction with the preKansan Kansas Eiver Valley east of Wamego. Formation of the new 

channel left an 8-square-mile highland area of bedrock between St. 

George and Wamego completely surrounded by deep channels and 

surficial deposits.

The glacier front apparently withdrew to a position near and 

parallel to the present Rock Creek where its movement almost ceased 

for a time. The pre-Kansan channels of Camp Creek and Rock Creek 

were freed of ice and became ice-marginal streams carrying water 

southeast around the ice front to a point 3 miles southeast of Flush 

where they joined and followed the pre-Kansan Kansas River Valley 

to its confluence with the present Kansas River Valley. Melt water 

from the glacier cut the wide valley through Flush and Myers Valley. 

Glaciolacustrine deposits on the south flank of Rock Creek Valley 

indicate that many small ponds stood along the ice margin. The 

outwash and glaciolacustrine deposits were later overridden by a 

minor readvance of the glacier, and till and a small terminal moraine 

were deposited on them. Melt water continued to flow into Wilson 

Branch of Rock Creek even after the glacier had withdrawn some
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 135

distance, and two southwest-trending valleys east of Fostoria were 

lengthened and enlarged considerably by melt water flowing from 

the melting ice. Similar lengthening and enlargement of other 

southwest-trending valleys may be seen at other places in the glaciated part of the county.

A buried valley filled with more than 65 feet of silty till trends 

northwest from Emmett. The valley was probably formed before 

the Kansan glaciation by Vermillion Creek flowing southeastward 

from sec. 7, T. 7 S., E. 11 E. This buried valley is being re-cut by 

Meyano Creek which now joins Cross Creek at Emmett. After the 

Vermillion Creek Valley was filled by till, melt water from the glacier 

topped a divide near the present junction of Jim Creek and Vermillion Creek and flowed southward to join the Kansas Eiver east of 

Wamego. From the northwest terminus of the valley in sec. 7, T. 7 S., 

E. 11 E., to its junction with the Kansas Eiver, the Vermillion Creek 

now flows through a narrower channel than it does in its course north 

of the valley.

GLACIOLACTISTEINE DEPOSITS

The largest glaciolacustrine deposit covers an area of about 8 square 

miles in the northern part of E. 11 E. and E. 12 E., T. 6 S., near the 

northeast corner of the county. The deposit is chiefly light-gray unstratified loose silt but contains thin layers of clay and of dark 

carbonaceous boggy material. Three samples contained 96, 77, and 

33 percent minus 200 mesh, indicating great disparity 4 to 67 percent in the amount of fine sand in the deposit. Although the silt is 

only slightly cemented with calcium carbonate and is easily eroded, 

it forms the vertical banks of deep flat-bottomed ravines.

The less silty glaciolacustrine deposits south of Eock Creek in the 

SW^4NW^4SE^4 sec. 22, T. 9 S., E. 9 E., contain more laminated 

clay interbedded with outwash sand. The clay beds are intricately 

deformed in a manner that suggests the clay was soft and mushy when 

the deforming forces were applied. The small folds and faults in 

these beds are probably the result of the glacier overriding its own 

outwash (Twenhofel, 1939, p. 535). A 2-inch layer of clay that swells 

when wet lies within a lenticular layer of clay at the same locality. 

The layers in the laminated part of the clay may represent seasonal 

varves, but they are thinner (one-sixteenth to one-eighth inch) than 

seasonal varves in other glacial lake clays.

The laminated part of the outwash clay west of St. Mary's consists 

of 1-inch layers of clay separated by 1-inch layers of sand. Each 

varve is about 2 inches thick. The evidence of erosion in the sand 

layers and the small channels cut in some of the clay layers indicates 

either a seasonal advance and retreat of the shoreline of the pond or
136 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

that the streams were burdened with more sediments between the claydepositing periods, a regimen similar to the seasonal fluctuation of 

glacial streams.

DUKE SAND

Two small deposits of sand that possess the hummocky topographic 

form of dunes lie on a bench of the Florence limestone member of 

the Barneston limestone in sees. 24 and 25, T. Y S., R. 6 E. The bench 

(which is considered to be pre-Kansan) is at an altitude of about 

1,210 feet, or about 200 feet above the present Big Blue River. The 

deposits consist of well-graded loose fine sand that is composed predominantly of well-rounded frosted quartz grains.

In the past, these deposits were considered to be Kansan glacial 

outwash that was reworked by the wind. The glacier lay only a short 

distance east of the dune sand and melt water might have brought 

sand from the glacier and deposited it on this bench. However, no 

outwash was found between the till boundary and the bench. Another possibility concerns Kaw Lake, which occupied the valley of the 

present Big Blue River during the time the Kansas River was 

dammed. Melt water from the glacier may have filled the valley with 

outwash to a depth of 200 feet and because the dune sand lies on a 

high bench cut on bedrock, subsequent erosion only partly removed it 

while entirely removing the outwash in the valley. The most probable 

theory is that the sand is pre-Kansan and represents the deposit of 

the stream that cut the bench.

The outwash sand north of St. George has been blown about by 

the wind. Dunelike forms were not recognized, but the sand grains 

in the upper parts of many outcrops are frosted and rounded. East 

of St. George erratic boulders of quartzite are polished by wind 

action.

SANBORN FORMATION

The name "Sanborn formation" was proposed by Elias (1931, p. 

163) "for the Pleistocene loess, with some gravel and sand at base, 

which is widely distributed on divides in western Kansas." Since 

this proposal was made, the formation has been subdivided to include, 

"in ascending order, the following members: (1) Crete sand and 

gravel member; (2) Loveland silt member, commonly containing 

within its top the Sangamon buried soil; (3) unnamed early Wisconsinan [sic] alluvial deposits; (4) Peoria [sic] silt member, commonly containing within its top the Brady buried soil; (5) unnamed 

late Wisconsinan [sic] alluvial deposits; and (6) Bignell silt member." (Frye and Leonard, 1952, p. 106.)

In Pottawatomie County more types of deposits were mapped as 

Sanborn formation than were included in the original definition
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 137

quoted above. Loess, colluvium (material moved downslope primarily by gravity and rill wash), old dissected terraces along the principal streams, and deposits of alluvium that are too small to map as 

such at the selected mapping scale are all included in the Sanborn 

formation. Most of the material is tan-gray, gray-brown, or redbrown silt.

Loess crops out on top of the bluffs along the Big Blue River northeast of Manhattan, and on the highland northward to Olsburg and 

Fostoria. A zonal soil is developed on the loess with a grayish-brown 

A horizon about 6 inches thick and a reddish-brown B2 horizon several feet thick (U. S. Dept. of Agric., 1951, p. 175). The B2 horizon 

contains enough clay minerals to be plastic; the total silt- and claysize material in the B2 horizon is 85 percent at an outcrop in the 

middle of the NW1^ sec. 33, T. 9 S., R. 8 E. This loess resembles the 

Loveland loess and in some places overlies Kansan till.

A tan-gray less clayey loess crops out along the Big Blue River 

at the foot of the bluffs northeast of Manhattan. It contains calcium 

carbonate nodules and stands in vertical banks. A similar loess, but 

with more clay, overlies Kansan till in the SW^SW1^ sec. 27, T. 8 S., 

R. 8 E. The loess in both places closely resembles Peorian loess. 

Other outcrops of this loess are northeast of Fostoria and overlie 

glacial outwash north of St. George.

Colluvium mantles most hillsides but is mapped only where it is 

thick enough to obscure bedrock. It consists of a heterogeneous deposit of silt and sand with pebbles of limestone and chert. The fill 

in the high small valleys is mostly dark gray-brown silt derived from 

the glacial till.

Old dissected terraces that adjoin all the larger streams in the 

county consist of silty alluvium with some sand lenses and thin 

veneers of colluvium. Because the remnants are small, are mostly 

covered by colluvium, and have lost the flat terrace form, they are 

mapped as part of the Sanborn formation.

TEEEACE ALLUVIUM

The terrace alluvium is stream-deposited silt, sand, and pebbles in 

the principal stream valleys. Although the material is lithologically 

similar to the alluvium of the valley floor, it is mapped separately 

because of its form.

Terraces have developed along all the principal streams in the 

county. Four terrace levels are recognized and mapped along the 

Kansas River, and three or less are mapped along the other stream 

valleys. The terraces are numbered successively (pi. 5) from oldest 

and highest to youngest and lowest. The numbers do not refer to 

Pleistocene glacial stages, but merely show the sequence of cutting
138 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

and alluviation, and may or may not correspond with numbers for 

terraces of the same level in adjoining counties. The symbol Qt 

is to be interpreted as the same level as Qti; the d> is used only where 

more than one terrace level is present.

All the terraces are composed of alluvium that was deposited during alternating cycles of cutting and filling. The alluvium is coarser 

in the lower part of each valley fill. Most of the coarse material is 

chert and limestone fragments commonly set in a lenticular matrix 

of sand in the silty alluvium. The upper part of each deposit of 

terrace alluvium is gray-brown silt deposited at flood stage. More 

than a foot of silt and clay may be deposited during a single flood. 

The silt is thicker on the older terraces. The depth from the top 

of the oldest terrace to the bedrock floor of the Kansas Eiver Valley 

is estimated to exceed 80 feet.

ALLUVIUM

The use of the symbol Qal is restricted to the alluvium covered 

by a normal flood in the larger stream valleys. In mapping this 

material, only the lowest, and topographically uneven deposits were 

thus designated. Other deposits of similar material at the same or 

higher elevations that may also be covered by normal flood, were 

mapped as terrace alluvium (Qt) because of their flat surfaces.

The alluvium is the most recent deposit and because it is now being 

reworked, it consists partly of reworked local material from the 

higher level valley alluvium, and partly of material from upstream 

areas. The latter constituent is most noticeable in the deposits along 

the Big Blue and Kansas Rivers where granitic material makes up 

the greater part of the gravel. The minor part of the gravel is local 

chert, limestone, shale, and ironstone fragments. The alluvium in 

the smaller stream valleys is mostly local material with a few erratics 

derived from the glacial drift. Sieve analysis shows that the alluvium 

in the smaller valleys has a greater proportion of coarse material 

than the alluvium in the valleys of the Big Blue and Kansas Eivers. 

In neither locale is the material uniformly sorted throughout its 

outcrop; however, grains of a particular size are commonly congregated in lenslike bodies.

Mammalian remains are occasionally found in the gravel dump 

of oversize material at the Wamego sand pump, where sand and 

gravel are pumped from the Kansas Eiver. Because of the scouring 

action of the river, teeth (especially of bison) are generally the only 

parts that are preserved.

The alluvium above the water table along the Big Blue and Kansas 

Eivers ranges from 2 to 15 feet in thickness and averages about 5 feet.
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 139

These thicknesses should not be used to compute reserves of alluvial 

gravel in the stream bed because they were measured above the water 

table. The total thickness in the Kansas Eiver Valley may be as 

much as 50 feet. The washing action that results from excavating 

gravel from a stream removes the unwanted fine material and makes 

the silty alluvial gravel below the water table as valuable as the 

clean nonsilty gravel above the water table.

Gravel and sand from the alluvium of the Kansas River are used 

principally for concrete aggregate, bituminous aggregate, mortar 

sand, and road metal. The alluvial gravel from the smaller streams is 

coarser than the gravel pumped from the Kansas River and contains 

a large amount of silt and clay that compacts to make it stay on the 

road better than the sand-pump gravel. Cobbles 6 inches long are 

not uncommon in the gravel recovered by dragline from the smaller 

streams.

STRUCTURE

The Nemaha range (Eardley, 1951) is the most prominent structural 

feature in the county. It trends southwest from the northeast corner 

of the county, passes just west of Havensville, and crosses a point 

beneath Vermillion Creek 3 miles south of Onaga where it appears to 

branch, one branch trends west for 2 miles and then southwest to 

sec. 1, T. 8 S., R. 10 E., where the trace is lost; the other branch 

probably follows the present course of Vermillion Creek, but the 

flexure is so gentle as not to be apparent in reconnaissance-type mapping. Although the range was mapped as a simple anticline, it is 

probably faulted in places.

A fault of small stratigraphic throw but of great areal extent is 

shown on the map as 5 miles north of Manhattan. To the west it dies 

out in the alluvium of the Big Blue River but to the east it lies 

beneath Cedar Creek and extends eastward for 5 miles before dying 

out in sec. 11, T. 9 S., R. 8 E. Four other small faults were observed, 

but none had a stratigraphic throw of more than 10 feet or a linear 

extent of more than a mile. Three of these were normal faults and 

one was a very small thrust fault.

These features are only a minor deviation from the overall structure of eastern Kansas. The regional dip in this county averages 

about 13 feet to the mile to the northwest. The Five Point limestone 

member crops out at 1,050 feet altitude 3 miles north of St. Marys 

and the Middleburg limestone member crops out at 1,050 feet altitude 

5 miles north of Olsburg a stratigraphic interval of 260 feet between 

two points 20 miles apart.
140 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

INVENTORY OF CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

The objective of this inventory of construction materials in Pottawatomie County is to define the materials as they are classified in 

this report and relate them to the map units in which they occur. 

Whenever available, laboratory test data have been introduced into 

the report to aid in the evaluation of the materials. The information 

given in table 1 is based on the standard testing procedures of the 

State Highway Commission of Kansas (1945; gradation factor, p. 

16; sieve analysis, p. 333-334; and soundness, p. 335-336) and the 

American Association of State Highway Officials (194Y; absorption, 

p. 251-252; compressive strength, p. 257-258; Deval abrasion, p. 235- 

236; liquid limit, p. 198-201; Los Angeles abrasion, p. 23Y-239; plasticity index, p. 202-204; specific gravity, p. 249-250; toughness, p. 240- 

241; and weight per cubic foot, p. 253-254).

It is expected that prospects listed in this report will be proved 

by subsequent drilling, or test pitting, and that the materials will be 

subjected to laboratory testing before acceptance for specific uses. 

Although many prospect pits and quarries were plotted on the map, 

no attempt was made to locate all possible sources of materials.

AGGREGATE FOE CONCRETE 

ENGINEERING AND GEOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS

In table 1 and on plate 5, aggregate for concrete is classified as fine 

aggregate and mixed aggregate. The distinction is arbitrarily based 

on the percentage of material retained on a No. 4 sieve. The portion 

of a sample retained on that sieve is designated as the coarse fraction. 

The material is classified as an aggregate if the coarse fraction is 5 

percent or more by weight of the sample, and as a fine aggregate if the 

coarse fraction is less than 5 percent. Fine and mixed aggregate will 

be considered together because the grading of almost any aggregate 

material may be changed by "sweetening" or screening until it conforms to the required specifications.

Aggregate for concrete consists of sand and gravel-size fragments 

of hard durable minerals or rocks. The constituent particles are free 

from adherent coatings that would interfere with the bonding of 

cement with the particles. The presence of the following substances, 

if in quantities thought to be excessive, is noted under remarks in table 

1: material passing the No. 200 sieve (wash); shaly, soft, or flaky fragments ; sticks or other organic debris; clay lumps; and minerals which, 

because of their chemical composition, may react with the cement to 

the detriment of the concrete.

The materials reported in this classification are accessible from 

all weather roads and are exposed at the surface or have an unconsoli-
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, PQTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 141

dated overburden sufficiently thin to permit economic development. 

The test characteristics of the materials indicate that some are not 

suitable for use in concrete. However, the same materials might be 

acceptable for other aggregate uses, such as aggregate for bituminous 

construction or for cover material.

STRATIGRAPmC SOURCES AND PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS

The stratigraphic units that are actual or potential sources of aggregate for concrete in Pottawatomie County are alluvium, glacial 

outwash, and limestone. The alluvium of the Kansas and Big Blue 

Rivers provides a great supply of aggregate. It is composed of sand, 

and a small amount of pebbles not more than 2 inches in diameter. 

Screened aggregates from the alluvium are widely used in engineering 

construction. The alluvium of the Big Blue River, and that at the 

Kansas River east of Manhattan, contains a large amount of chert. 

The chert is not present in the Kansas River west of its confluence 

with the Big Blue River.

The service record of the Kansas River aggregate is bad; that of 

the Big Blue River aggregate is good. In the normal type of concrete 

mixture the Kansas River aggregate deteriorates and produces abnormal expansion, map cracking, and loss of flexural strength in the 

structure. This sand-gravel can be made into serviceable aggregate 

by "sweetening" it with rather soft, durable, and absorptive limestones (Scholer and Gibson, 1948).

Seven samples, included in ma 2 and 3, were taken from the Kansas 

River. The results of the standard tests (table 1) indicate that the 

material is suitable for aggregate. The specific gravity averages 2.60; 

the gradation factor is 3.42; the compressive strength ratio is well 

above 1 and the aggregate is sound.

The glacial outwash also contains large supplies of aggregate. 

The outwash is composed of sand and a small amount of fine gravel. 

Coarser gravel is available in the lower part of the outwash north 

and west of St. George. The glacial outwash has been very little 

used because of the alteration of pebbles in the gravel, the thickness 

of sand covering the gravel, and the tremendous quantity of aggregate 

available in the alluvium of the Kansas and Big Blue Rivers. Considerable chert is mixed with the outwash just west of St. Marys, 

but chert is rare in the other outwash deposits.

Three samples, included in fa 1 and ma 1, were taken from the outwash. The results of standard tests (table 1) indicate that the 

material is suitable for use as aggregate. The specific gravity averages 2.60 and the gradation factor, 3.05. The compressive strength 

ratio was above 1 in 2 of the 3 samples tested.
142 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

Large volumes of cherty and noncherty limestone are available in 

the county. The Cottonwood limestone member of the Beattie limestone, Neva limestone member of the Grenola limestone, Burr limestone 

member of the Grenola limestone, Eiss limestone member of the 

Bader limestone, the Funston limestone, and the Fort Kiley limestone member of the Barneston limestone are the gray limestone 

units that are generally used for concrete aggregate. The results 

of tests on the Cottonwood limestone member show widely varying 

results that reflect the sampling of weathered and unweathered layers, 

the variable lithology of the limestone, the presence of absence of 

chert nodules, and the presence or absence of fusulinids. The other 

noncherty limestone units will vary in the same way; each layer 

should be tested for a particular use. Tests were not made on the 

Threemile limestone member of the Wreford limestone, the Schroyer 

limestone members of the Wreford limestone, and the Florence limestone member of the Barneston limestone, which are the cherty limestone units that might be usable for concrete aggregate.

ROAD METAL 

ENGINEERING AND GEOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS

Road metal, known also as surfacing material, crushed stone, and 

aggregate, is defined in this report as material that may be applied 

to a road to improve the performance characteristics of that road. 

The geologic materials classed as road metal vary from one area to 

another. The materials in Pottawatomie County that have been 

used or are available for use as road metal are aggregate for concrete, 

limestone gravel, chert gravel, and crushed rock.

STRATIGRAPHIC SOURCES AND PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS

Materials listed in the section on Aggregate have been used, or are 

available for use, in various types of road construction in Pottawatomie County. The alluvium of the Kansas River was the source 

of material used in the base course of a bituminous-mat on State 

Route 99 between Wamego and Westmorland; it was used as loose 

road metal on light-traffic roads, such as State Routes 13, 16, and 63; 

and in various ways in other types of road construction. No information is available on the performance of glacial outwash as road 

metal, but some from deposits just west of St. Marys was used for 

that purpose. At least two roads were surfaced with crushed limestone before 1949. One of these was the road from Stockdale in 

Riley County to Olsburg in Pottawatomie County; the other was the 

road trending due north from Belvue. The performance record is 

good; however, the crushed stone is said to be slightly more expen-
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 143

sive than other types of surfacing material. The Brownville limestone member was quarried for road metal until it was learned that 

the rock was too hard for road metal.

Limestone gravel is defined by the State Highway Commission of 

Kansas as a sedimentary material composed of rounded fragments of 

local limestone, generally about three-fourths of an inch long, incorporated in a matrix of silt-size particles. Limestone gravel is used 

 extensively as road metal on secondary roads throughout northeast 

Kansas.

Chert gravel, clay gravel, or flint gravel with binder is defined by 

the State Highway Commission of Kanas as a hard gravel or chert 

stone occurring naturally with sand and a binder material. Chert 

gravel is used extensively as road metal on township roads along 

the Flint Hills in northeast Kansas.

Crushed rocks available for use in road construction are (a) limestone, a compact massive calcareous rock of variable hardness; and 

(b) shale, a calcareous silty shale or siltstone that is somewhat soft 

but still an excellent surfacing material to impart firmness to the 

clayey glacial till.

The materials included here as sources of crushed rock are listed 

in table 1 under limestone and mapped on plate 5 under the specific 

designations of limestone and shale because they may be used also 

as structural stone and riprap.

Several sources of material classified as limestone gravel are mapped 

on plate 5, and the test characteristics of material from five of these 

sources (Ig 1 to 5) are given in table 1. The gravels occur in small 

quantities in colluvium and alluvium of the Sanborn formation in the 

higher and smaller stream valleys. The gravels contain limestone 

and shale from the small catchment area upstream from the deposits. 

Probably the largest supply of limestone gravel comes from the terrace 

deposits and the alluvium on the valley floors of the medium-size 

streams. This material is locally called creek gravel and near the 

outcrops of cherty limestone is more chert gravel than limestone 

gravel. Although the parent limestone contains more limestone than 

chert the abrasive power of the stream destroys the limestone first 

and leaves a residuum of chert particles. However, the older gravel 

in one deposit (Ig 1) is predominately limestone.

Although the chert gravel deposits in the county have been exploited for many years, considerable quantities are still available. 

Most chert gravel deposits are at high altitudes; they are shown on 

plate 5 as old gravel. The material is composed of rounded pebbles 

of chert in a silt matrix in the deposits near Wamego, Flush, Emmett, 

and Havensville.
144 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

MINERAL FILLER 

ENGINEERING AND GEOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS

Material composed predominantly of silt-size particles (50 percent 

or more of the sample passes the No. 200 sieve) is classified in this 

report as mineral filler. It has no more than a trace of sticks or 

other organic debris, but may contain minor amounts of fine sand 

or clay. To qualify as mineral filler, this material must have a low 

coefficient of cementation. Deficiencies in this characteristic among 

the samples tested are noted under remarks in table 1. Failure of 

the material to pulverize easily, a factor of cementation, makes it 

more difficult to obtain a uniform distribution of the material 

throughout the mixture.

STRATIGRAPHIC SOURCES AND PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS

Test data on two samples of mineral filler taken from the glaciolacustrine deposits in the northeast corner of the county (mf 1) indicates that part of the material might be acceptable as mineral filler, 

even though only 33 percent of one sample passed the No. 200 sieve. 

The cementation factor of one sample, an average of 41, was rather 

high. The mineral filler for the only bituminous-mat road in the 

county, State Eoute 99, is said to have been imported into the county. 

It is recommended that the cementation factor of any material be 

determined in the laboratory as a prerequisite to its utilization.

One sample of the silty till from the SW^SW^ sec. 30, T. 9 S., 

K. 9 E., was tested in the laboratory of the U. S. Geological Survey. 

It was found that 61.2 percent of the material passed the No. 200 

sieve and that only 1.05 percent was retained on the No. 30 sieve. 

Most of the till is clayey; it, therefore, would not be expected to 

pulverize easily.

Two samples of glacial outwash that contain more than 50 percent 

minus 200 fraction, indicate that glacial outwash is a possible source 

of mineral filler.

Silt from the terrace deposits was not tested in the laboratory, but 

this stratigraphic unit has been a source in other counties and is a 

potential source in Pottawatomie County. However, it is doubtful 

that very much mineral filler can be obtained from a single site because most terrace deposits are poorly sorted.

RIPRAP 

ENGINEERING AND GEOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS

As defined in this report, riprap is any material that will protect 

earthen fills from erosion. The material for this use must be relatively sound and free from impurities and cracks and other structural
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 145

defects that would cause it to disintegrate through erosion, slaking, 

or freeze-and-thaw. Blocks of riprap should have approximately 

rectangular faces 7 inches or more in width.

STKATIGKAPHIC SOURCES AND PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS

Four limestone units in Pottawatomie County are probably suitable for riprap. They are the Neva limestone member of the Grenola 

limestone, Tarkio limestone member of the Zeandale limestone, Americus limestone member of the Foraker limestone, and the Brownville 

limestone member of the Wood Siding formation. The Neva limestone member of the Grenola limestone is giving satisfactory performance as riprap on Lake Pottawatomie. Among the other stones that 

are used as riprap on this lake is the lower layer of the Threemile limestone member of the Wreford limestone which, however, is slaking 

badly. The Tarkio limestone member of the Zeandale limestone is 

taken from three large quarries along the Kansas River between 

Wamego and St. George for use as riprap along the Union Pacific 

Railroad tracks that adjoin the Kansas River. The four criteria used 

in evaluating these limestone units for use as riprap were a freeze-andthaw loss ratio (soundness) of not lower than 0.90; Los Angeles abrasion loss of not more than 30.0; absorption factor of not more than 4.0; 

and a specific gravity of at least 2.0. The Neva limestone member of 

the Grenola limestone met this test in only 4 of 8 samples; therefore 

each ledge should be tested for soundness and absorption before quarrying is begun. The other three limestone units were satisfactory in 

all respects.

STRUCTURAL STONE 

ENGINEERING AND GEOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS

Structural stone, as defined in this report, is any hard dense rock that 

can be quarried and cut to the desired size and shape. Thick-bedded 

fine-grained light-colored or light-gray limestone is generally considered the best kind of limestone for this purpose. Eight limestone units 

in the county would be satisfactory for this use.

STRATIGRAPHIC SOURCES AND PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS

The Cottonwood limestone member is widely used in the county. 

It is an attractive light-gray stone that weathers darker gray with 

many small fusulinids projecting from the surface and it can be sawed 

readily to the desired dimensions. Although the tests show that its 

absorption is high and the soundness poorer than might be desired, the 

stone has been observed in good condition although subjected to much 

moisture in foundation and retaining walls. It has also been used 

satisfactorily in stone bridges and drainage structures.

The Neva limestone member is used in many buildings in the county,
146 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

both new and old. The American Legion building in Wamego was 

constructed in 1949 of limestone from the Neva and many older buildings were observed that were in excellent condition. The stone, which 

can be sawed readily, is a lighter gray than the Cottonwood and does 

not darken as quickly when weathered.

The Fort Biley limestone member was used in the construction of a 

few farm buildings in the northwestern part of the county. Because 

it is not as thick in Pottawatomie County as in Kiley and Geary Counties and on the Fort Riley Military Reservation, it is used less as 

structural stone. The upper rimrock is the only part of the member 

suitable for this use and its thickness barely exceeds 2 feet.

The Funston limestone is the most extensively used of the Permian 

limestones in the northeastern part of the county. The stone is gray 

and somewhat more porous than the three limestone units already 

discussed.

The Reading limestone member of the Emporia limestone was used 

in constructing many of the stone buildings at Onaga. Two of the 

three layers in the member are brown and the third is gray. In most 

buildings only one layer was used for the entire building; however, 

in a few buildings all three layers were used indiscriminately. The 

attractive stone is quite durable and requires very little sizing because the normal thickness of each of the three layers is between 0.6 

and 0.8 foot. In some quarries a rectangular joint system reduces 

even further the work of sizing the stone.

The Americus limestone member of the Foraker limestone has been 

used less for buildings than it has for stone bridges, culverts, and 

other small structures. Each of the two layers averages a foot in 

thickness and blocks as large as 4 by 6 feet are common; it is, therefore, well adapted for floors and for the aprons of bridges. Its performance is excellent and very little slaking was observed even where 

it was subjected to the most adverse conditions.

The only use that was observed of the Aspinwall limestone member 

of the Onaga shale was in small bridges. It splits readily along the 

bedding plane; therefore even though its thickness is variable it can 

be adapted to a variety of uses. Unfortunately, in many places its 

joints form inequiangular parallelograms rather than rectangles.

The Five Point limestone member of the Janesville shale has not 

been used much in the construction of buildings. Near Duluth, it is 

an attractive orange-pink stone and has been used more than in 

other parts of the county. Its specific gravity is above 2.0, which is 

lower than that of most other limestone units because it is a coquina. 

Because the rate of absorption is high it should probably be used 

above the ground level to keep it from disintegrating too rapidly.
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 147

Other limestone units have been used in small amounts for all 

purposes, but the eight limestone units discussed here are the most 

important in the county for use as structura] stone.

LITERATURE CITED

American Association of State Highway Officials, 1947, Standard specifications

for highway materials and methods of sampling and testing, pt. 2, 5th ed.,

361 p. 

Burton, R. H., and Bearman, C. H., 1949, Geological Report and Geo-Engineering

Survey: Project 24-75 F 605 (1) Pottawatomie County: State Highway

Commission of Kansas. 

Eardley, A. J., 1951, Structural geology of North America: Harper, New York,

p. 37-39. 

Fenneman, N. M., 1917, Physiographic divisions of the United States: Assoc.

American Geographers Annals, v. 6, p. 19-98.

 1938, Physiography of eastern United States: McGraw-Hill Book Co.,

N. Y., 714 p. 

Flora, S. D., 1948, The climate of Kansas: Kansas State Board of Agriculture

Rept., v. 67, no. 285, 320 p. 

Frye, J. C., and Leonard, A. B., 1952, Pleistocene geology of Kansas: Kansas

State Geol. Survey Bull. 99, 230 p. 

Frye, J. C., and Swineford, Ada, 1949, The Plains Border physiographic section:

Kansas Acad. Sci. Trans., v. 52, no. 1, p. 71-81. 

Hay, Robert, 1893, Pres. address, The geology of the Great Plains: Kansas

Acad. Sci. Trans.,.v. 13, p. 3-6. 

Hoover, W. F., 1936, Petrography and distribution of a highly weathered drift

in the Kansas River Valley: Jour. Sed. Petrology, v. 6, no. 3, p. 143-153. 

Lohman, S. W., 1941, Ground water conditions in the vicinity of Lawrence,

Kansas : Kansas Geol. Survey Bull. 38, pt. 2, p. 17-64. 

Moore, R. C., 1949, Divisions of the Pennsylvanian system in Kansas: Kansas

Geol. Survey Bull. 83, 203 p. 

Moore, R. C., Frye, J. C., Jewett, J. M., Lee, Wallace, and O'Connor, H. G.,

1951, The Kansas rock column: Kansas Geol. Survey Bull. 89,132 p. 

Moore, R. C., and Mudge, M. R., 1956, Reclassification of some lower Permian

and Upper Pennsylvanian strata in northern mid-continent: Am. Assoc.

Petroleum Geologists Bull., v. 40, no. 9, p. 2272-2278. 

Mudge, M. R., 1956, Sandstones and channels in Upper Pennsylvanian and lower

Permian in Kansas: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull., v. 40, no. 4,

p.654-678.

 1955, Early Pleistocene geomorphic history of Wabaunsee, southeastern Riley, and southern Pottawatomie Counties, Kansas: Kansas Acad. 

Sci. Trans., v. 58, no. 2, p. 271-281.

Mudge, M. R., and Burton, R. H., 1959, Geology of Wabaunsee County, Kansas: 

U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 1068.

Schoewe, W. H., 1946, Coal resources of the Wabaunsee Group in eastern Kansas: 

Kansas Geol. Survey Bull. 63,144 p.

 1949, The geography of Kansas: Kansas Acad. Sci. Trans., v. 52, no. 3,

p. 261-333. 

Scholer, C. H., and Gibson, W. E., 1948, Effect of various coarse aggregates

upon the cement-aggregate reaction: Jour. American Concrete Inst, v. 19,

no. 10, p. 1009-1032.
148 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

Smyth, B. B., 1898, The buried moraine of the Shunganunga : Kansas Acad.

Sci. Trans., v. 15, p. 95-104. 

State Highway Commission of Kansas, 1945, Standard specifications for state

road and bridge construction : 512 p. 

Todd, J. E., 1908, Drainage of the Kansas ice sheet : Kansas Acad. Sci. Trans.,

v. 22, p. 107-112. 

 1917, History of Kaw Lake, Kansas : Kansas Acad. Sci. Trans., v. 28,

p. 187-199. 

Twenhofel, W. H., 1939, Principles of sedimentation: McGraw-Hill Book Co.,

N. Y., 610 p. 

U. S. Congress Documents, 1944, Missouri River Basin, conservation, control,

and use of water resources : 78th Gong., 2d sess., S. Doc. 191. 

U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1951, Soil survey manual, Handbook no. 18,

503 p. 

U. S. Weather Bureau, 1942-1950, Climatological data, Kansas section: U. S.

Dept. of Commerce. 

Wilmarth, M. G., 1938, Lexicon of geologic names of the United States : U. S.

Geol. Survey Bull. 896, pts. 1 and 2, 2396 p.

STRATIGRAPHIC SECTIONS

1. Section in a stream cut in the NE^SW^ sec. 18, T. 6 S., R. 12 E., where the Rulo 

limestone member of the Scranton shale crops out 0.2 foot above the Elmo coaL

Scranton shale (part):

Rulo limestone member (part): Feet 

4. Limestone, dark grayish-brown, massive; crystalline calcite 

commonly replaces crinoid columnals; weathers light gray, 

shaly; contains small f usulinids. ________________________ 1. 2

Cedar Vale shale member (part):

3. Shale, gray, sandy_____________________________________ . 2

2. Coal, limonitic, impure; Elmo coal-__-__-----__-_---_---_- .4

1. Siltstone, light-gray to tan-gray, blocky_ ________________ 4. 0

Thickness of Cedar Vale shale member exposed.-_________ 4. 6

Thickness of Scranton shale exposed. ____________________ 5. 8

2. Section in a stream cut 200 yards south of section 1 in the SE^SW^ sec. 18,

T. 6 S., R. 12 E. 

Bern limestone (part) :

Burlingame limestone member (part) : Feet 

6. Limestone, brown, massive; conglomeratic with clay nodules;

weathers tan; contains large and small fusulinids__________ 1. 0

Scranton shale (part) :

Cedar Vale and Silver Lake shale members undifferentiated (part) :

5. Shale, gray, clayey; weathers light gray_____--__-__-_--____ 25. 3

4. Coal, limonitic, impure; Elmo coal___-__-_---_----_----_-_ .7

3. Claystone, gray, blocky; weathers light gray_____ ___________ 14. 4

2. Limestone, tan; massive in upper 0.4 foot; tan and maroon,

shaly to nodular in lower 2.2 feet-_-___-_---------_--_--- 2. 6

1. Shale, light-gray, clayey; weathers light gray_ ______________ 1. 4

Thickness exposed______---_-_---_------_----_----_- 44. 4
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 149

3. Section in a road cut in the SW&SEH sec. 2, T. 7 S., R 11 E.

Bern limestone (part):

Wakarusa limestone member (part): Feet 

5. Limestone, tan, massive; crystalline calcite commonly replaces

crinoid columnals; weathers tan; fossiliferous_____________ 0. 6

Soldier Creek shale member:

4. Claystone, variegated, blocky___________________________ 3. 3

Burlingame limestone member (part):

3. Limestone, tan, massive, limonite stained; weathers maroon 

(stained from variegated shale above), blocky; contains 

fusulinids-__--______-_______-_-__----_----_-_---_ . 5

2. Shale, tan-gray, silty, calcareous; weathers light-gray..______ . 6

1. Limestone, tan, massive; conglomeratic with clay nodules;

weathers maroon; contains fusulinids____________________ 1.6

Thickness exposed_____________________-____-_______ 2. 7

Thickness of Bern limestone exposed-_________________ 6. 6

4. Section in a stream cut in the SW%SE% sec. 2, T. 7 S., R. 11 E.

Bern limestone:

Burlingame limestone member: Feet 

12. Limestone, gray mottled brown, massive; conglomeratic

with flattened clay balls; contains fusulinids_____________ 1. 3

Scranton shale (part):

Cedar Vale and Silver Lake shale members undifferentiated (part):

11. Shale, variegated light-green and maroon, silty..-_________- 2. 4

10. Limestone, tan, blocky; weathers brown.__________________ . 4

9. Shale, olive drab, clayey; weathers light green____________ 2. 6

8. Limestone, light greenish-gray, massive, sandy..___________ . 6

7. Shale, olive-drab, sandy, calcareous; weathers light green____ 1. 5

6. Shale, black, clayey; contains limestone nodules; weathers

gray; fossiliferous._______________________-____________ 1. 0

5. Limestone, gray, fine-grained; contains calcite and marcasite

nodules; weathers gray; f ossilif erous. ___ ________________ . 2

4. Claystone, black, blocky; weathers light gray._____________ 18. 1

3. Coal, black, limonitic; contains marcasite nodules; f ossilif erous near top; Elmo coal__._____________-___---__-_- .6

2. Shale, silty; has vertical fracture pattern with coal in fractures__________________________________ 6. 7

1. Claystone, dark-gray, blocky, calcareous; weathers tan.

A 0.2 foot silty limestone lies at top of claystone_________ 1. 3

Thickness of Cedar Vale and Silver Lake shale members

undifferentiated exposed_________________________ 35. 4
150 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

5. Section in a road cut in the SWVtNW% sec. 18, T. 10 S., R 10 E.

Emporia limestone:

Reading limestone member: *"«* 

17. Limestone, gray and brown, massive, dense, hard; weathers 

gray and brown; splits into four separate layers; fossiliferous..________________________________________ 2. 8

Auburn shale:

16. Shale, tan-gray, clayey; weathers tan gray____-- . 7 

15. Shale, dark-gray, clayey; weathers dark gray.__________ 1. 3

14. Shale, olive-drab, silty; weathers tan gray______________ 6. 8

13. Limestone, gray, shaly, nodular; weathers gray; fossiliferous. 1. 1 

12. Shale, tan-gray, silty, calcareous____________________ 5. 7

11. Shale, light-gray, silty_________________________ . 1

10. Shale, olive-drab, silty; weathers to gray or light-gray

muddy lumps________________________________ 7. 5

Total thickness of Auburn shale._.__ __ 23.2 

Bern limestone (part):

Wakarusa limestone member:

9. Limestone, tan-gray, sandy appearing; weathers tan gray in

small pebbles____________________________-____________ . 5

8. Limestone, gray, shaly; weathers gray; fossiliferous.____ .8

7. Limestone, tan-gray, massive; weathers tan gray _________ 1. 2

6. Limestone, tan-gray; weathers tan gray and shaly__________- 1. 2

5. Limestone, tan-gray mottled with tan, massive, sandy.______ . 5

4. Shale, gray, silty, calcareous; weathers gray______________ . 3

3. Limestone, tan-gray, massive; weathers reddish brown with

brown dendritic figures____________________________ 1. 2

Total thickness of Wakarusa limestone member.....__ 5. 7

Soldier Creek shale member:

2. Shale, olive-drab; blocky, clayey, micaceous; weathers gray.- 1. 2 

Burlingame limestone member (part): 

1. Limestone, tan-gray, massive; weathers pink due to limonite;

conglomeratic with clay balls; contains small fusulinids_-__ 1. 6

Thickness of Bern limestone exposed. ____--_____--__-_ 8. 5

6. Section in a road cut in the SE^NE^ sec. 13, T. 10 S., R. 9 E.

Emporia limestone:

Elmont limestone member: Feet 

9. Limestone, gray, massive; vertical joints widened by solution;

weathers tan gray ; contains small f usulinids ___-______--_- 2. 2

Harveyville shale member:

8. Shale, dark-gray, clayey, micaceous; weathers dark gray____ 2. 3

7. Limonite, brown, concretionary______________--------_-__- . 1

6. Shale, gray, clayey, limonitic; weathers gray______________ 17. 0

Total thickness of Harvey ville shale member. __________ 19. 4
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 151

6. Section in a road cut in the SE^NEY* sec. 13, T. 10 S., R. 9 E Continued

Emporia limestone Continued 

Reading limestone member:

5. Limestone, brown, massive, dense, hard; crystalline calcite Feet 

commonly replaces crinoid columnals; weathers brown; 

fossiliferous____--_-_-___--_-______-___.._______-_-___- 0. 6

4. Limestone, gray, massive, dense, hard; crystalline calcite 

commonly replaces crinoid columnals; weathers gray;

3. Limestone, gray, massive, dense, hard; crystalline calcite 

commonly replaces crinoid columnals, and calcite crystals 

radiate into shell cavities; weathers gray; folssiliferous. _ _ _ . 8 

2. Shale, brown, silty, limonitic; weathers tan gray____- _______ . 5

1. Limestone, dark-gray, crystalline; weathers dark gray;

fossiliferous. ____-__-_-__-______-_____-___-_-__-_-___- .2

Total thickness of Reading limestone member._________ 2. 8

Total thickness of Emporia limestone________________ 24. 4

7. Section in quarries in the Tarkio and Elmont limestone members in the SW^NE^i

sec. 15, T. 10 S., R. 9 E. 

Zeandale limestone (part):

Wamego shale member (part): Feet 

7. Shale, gray, silty__._____-__-__--_______-_________---____ ?

6. Shale, tan-gray, silty, limonitic. __________________________ 1. 0+

Thickness of Wamego shale member._..____--_-_-____-_ 1. 0+

Tarkio limestone member:

5. Limestone, light-gray, massive; weathers brown, slabby to 

nodular; large gray fusulinids project from sides of blocks. 

Divided into two layers upper layer is 4.2 feet thick, lower 

layer is 4 feet thick___ _---_-_-_-____-_______-__.-___ 8.2

Thickness of Zeandale limestone exposed.______________ 9. 2+

Willard shale:

4. Shale, gray; covered except for 6 feet of clayey shale at bottom._________._---_________________ 28. 7

Emporia limestone:

Elmont limestone member:

3. Limestone, dark-gray, massive; vertical joints; clay nodules 

give conglomeratic appearance; weathers brown limonitic at 

top; contains small fusulinids __________________________ 5.0

Harveyville shale member:

2. Shale, gray, sandy; weathers tan gray____--_-___-_---.-_- 21. 3

Reading limestone member:

1. Limestone, brown to gray, massive, dense, hard; weathers 

brown to gray, fossiliferous; divides into 3 or 4 beds in most 

places___--------_-------------------------------_-_- 2. 0

Total thickness of Emporia limestone._________-.__-_ 28. 3
152 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

8. Section in a road cut to a quarry in the NE^NW^ sec. 18, T. 10 S., R. 10 K.

Zeandale limestone (part):

Tarkio limestone member (part): Feet 

7. Limestone, light-gray, massive; flinty appearing; weathers 

brown, chalky, and nodular with large gray fusulinids projecting___________________________________-___________ 5. 7

Willard shale:

6. Shale, gray, sandy, limonitic; contains ironstone concretions;

weathers tan gray__-___-___--_-----__-__------________ 4. 8

5. Sandstone, tan-gray, micaceous, soft, friable; somewhat crossbedded; contains limonite nodules_______-_-_______-_____ 2. 9

4. Shale, tan-gray, sandy, limonitic---___--____----_________- . 7

3. Sandstone, tan-gray, soft, friable, limonite stained_________ . 6

2. Shale, tan-gray, sandy, limonitic; slope appears tan gray,

speckled with brown limonite nodules__________________ 28. 0

Total thickness of Willard shale____________________ 37. 0

Emporia limestone (part):

Elmont limestone member (part):

1. Limestone, gray, massive; weathers brown, shaly with limonite

particles on top; contains small fusulinids.______________ 2. 0

9. Section in a stream cut in the NE^NE^ sec. 12, T. 9 S., R. 9 E.

Stotler limestone:

Dover limestone member (part): Feet 

11. Limestone, gray, massive, hard, dense; weathers light brown, 

nodular; algal nodules weather out on slope; contains 

large fusulinids_______________-____-___-_-__-----____ 2. 8

Pillsbury shale:

10. Shale, gray, silty; contains limonite nodules; weathers tan

gray__._____________________________ 16. 8

Zeandale limestone:

Maple Hill limestone member:

9. Limestone, dark-gray, massive, dense; crystalline calcite 

commonly replaces crinoid columnals; weathers brown, shaly 

in rectangular blocks_____________-_-____-_____--______ 1. 8

Wamego shale member:

8. Shale, dark-gray, clayey; weathers tan gray mottled with

gray; some limonite stains__-_-__-_--___-_-------_--____ 20. 8

7. Limonite, reddish-brown, blocky; weathers reddish brown____ . 1

6. Coal, black mottled with brown, limonitic, impure__________ . 5

5. Limestone, gray; pebbly; contains brown 0.02 foot spots of

limonite; weathers dark gray___________________________ .5

4. Siltstone, olive-drab, blocky; weathers gray________________ 1.1

3. Coal, black; with brown limonite streak____________________ . 1

2. Claystone, olive-drab, blocky; contains brown spots of limonite- . 5

Total thickness of Wamego shale member_____________ 23. 6
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 153

"9. Section in a stream cut in the NE^NE^ sec. 12, T. 9 S., R. 9 E Continued

JZeandale limestone Continued

Tarkio limestone member: Feet 

1. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, dense; weathers grayish brown,

blocky; contains large fusulinids_ _______________________ 40

Total thickness of Zeandale limestone _._____-_-_____-_ 29. 4

10. Section in a stream cut in the NW^NW~^ sec. 6, T. 9 S., R. 10 E. (stratigraphic 

names and tops and bottoms according to M. R. Mudge oral communication)

Hoot shale:

Jim Creek limestone member: F 

9. Limestone, tan, massive; mottled with light green; weathers

tan gray and nodular; fossiliferous.--------------- ----_-_ 2. Z

Dry and Friedrich shale members undifferentiated:

8. Shale, variegated olive-drab and maroon clayey ____________ 146

7. Shale, black, silty; weathers dark gray..-_________________ . 8

Total Dry and Friedrich shale members undifferentiated. _ 15. 4

Total thickness of Root shale..__________________ 17. 7

Stotler limestone:

Dover limestone member: (Units 4, 5, and 6 are probable correlatives 

of Grandhaven limestone member south of Kansas River)

6. Limestone, dark-gray, massive; weathers tan______________ . 7

5. Shale, dark-gray, silty, calcareous; weathers tan gray; contains fusulinids-______________________________________ .9

4. Limestone, grayish-orange, massive; shells colored orange;

weathers tan gray and blocky; fossiliferous_.____________ 1. 0

3. Shale, light-green, nodular, silty, calcareous; weathers light 

green mottled with tan gray. (Unit 3 is probable correlative 

of Dry shale member south of Kansas River) ______________ 1.8

2. Limestone, light-gray, massive, dense; weathers tan gray and 

nodular; fossiliferous; contains large fusulinids. (Typical 

Dover limestone)____________________________________ 3. 5

Total thickness of Stotler limestone__-------_--___--__ 7. 9

Pillsbury shale (part):

1. Claystone, olive-drab; weathers light gray, blocky.________ 2. 8
154 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS 

11. Section in a road cut in the NE^NW^i sec. 27, T. 8 S., R. 10 E.

Falls City limestone: Feet 

9. Limestone, brown, resinous, massive, dense; soft where fresh; 

weathers hard and blocky with brown manganese dendrites 

on joint planes ; slightly f ossilif erous _ ____________________ 3. 0

Hawxby shale member:

8. Shale, variegated gray, maroon, and tan-gray, silty, calcareous;

tan-gray limestone with molluscs 8 feet from the top._____ 21. 0

Aspinwall limestone member:

7. Limestone, grayish-brown, massive; silty at base; coarse and 

fine layers stratified at top; weathers grayish brown, cavernous, in rectangular joint blocks________________________ 4. 2

Towle shale member:

6. Shale, variegated light-green, gray, olive-drab, and maroon,

silty_________________________________ 12. 8

Total thickness of Onaga shale_____________________ 38. 0

Wood Siding formation:

Brownville limestone member:

5. Limestone, brown, massive, dense; weathers tan; f ossilif erous _ 1. 3 

4. Shale, tan-gray, silty; extremely fossiliferous________ , 5

3. Limestone, light-brown, massive, dense; weathers tan; fossiliferous_________________________._____. 1. 7

Total thickness of Brown ville limestone member._.___ 3. 5

Dry and Pony Creek shale members undifferentiated:

2. Shale, olive-drab to gray, silty, limonitic: septarian nodules as 

much as 2 feet in diameter containing crystals of calcite, 

barite, and celeetite_________________________________ 55. 0

Total of Wood Siding formation exposed,_______ _____ 58. 5

Stotler limestone (part):

Dover limestone member (part):

1. Limestone, brown, massive, dense; weathers tan gray to cream, 

nodular; algal nodules weather out on surface of ground; 

f ossilif erous__________ __________ __ 4. 0

Thickness of Stotler limestone exposed_ ... 4. 0
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 155

12. /Section in a stream cut in the SW^SE^ sec. 16, T. 8 S., R. 10 E.

Wood Siding formation (part):

Nebraska City limestone member: Feet 

4. Limestone; brownish tan in upper 0.2 foot; bluish gray mottled

with tan in lower foot; massive; weathers shaly; fossiliferous. 1. 2 

Root shale and Stotler limestone undifferentiated (part): = -- French Creek shale member:

3. Shale, gray, sandy, limonitic___________________________ 28. 5

Jim Creek limestone member:

2. Limestone, gray, massive; weathers brown, shaly with limonite 

stains on upper surface; crinoid columnals and other fossils 

project from surface__-______________________-____-_._- 1. 3

Dry and Friedrich shale members undifferentiated (part):

1. Shale, light-gray; sandy in upper part, silty in lower part.

Thickness exposed_____________________________ 9. 5

Thickness of Root shale and Stotler limestone undifferentiated exposed______________________________ 39.3

13. Section in a road cut on an east-trending r.oad in the NW}£NW}£ sec. 5, T. 9 S.,

R. 10 E. 

Onaga shale (part):

Towle shale member: Feet 

9. Limestone, light-gray, nodular; weathers light gray, shaly;

contains molluscs.____________________________________ 1. 0

8. Claystone, olive-drab, blocky_________________________--__ 5. 7

Thickness of the Onaga shale exposed._______-_-_-_-_- 6. 7

Wood Siding formation: = 

Brownville limestone member:

7. Limestone, brown, massive; weathers tan, blocky to nodular;

fossiliferous__________________________________________ 3.0

Pony Creek shale member:

6. Shale, variegated olive-drab, maroon, clayey; limonitie in

lower part_______________________________________ 8. 7

Grayhorse limestone and Plumb shale members missing. 

Nebraska City limestone member:

5. Limestone, massive; metallic gray when fresh; crystalline calcite commonly replaces crinoid columnals; weathers brown 

mottled with gray; shaly; fossiliferous___-_-_--_----_---_- 1. 5

Total thickness of Wood Siding formation._____________ 13. 2

Root shale (part):

French Creek shale member:

4. Shale, olive-drab, clayey; weathers tan gray_____ ______ . 3

3. Coal; black and brown layers; limonitic; impure; Lorton coal.. . 25 

2. Underclay, light-gray, silty; weathers light gray__ _____ . 25

1. Shale, tan-gray, silty, limonitic_______._______ _____ 10.4

Thickness of Root shale exposed.--.-------.---------- 11. 2
156 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

14. Section in a road cut on an east-trending road in the NW^NW^i sec. 4> T. 9 S.,

R. 10 E. 

Onaga shale (part) :

Hawxby shale member (part) : Feet 

9. Limestone, tan, blocky; weathers tan gray, nodular; contains

molluscs________________ _ ___________________________ 0. 8

8. Claystone, olive-drab, blocky; weathers tan gray_____ _______ 1. 4

7. Limestone, tan, massive; weathers tan mottled with gray,

nodular___________________________.___________________ . 6

6. Claystone, variegated tan, tan-gray and maroon, calcareous 9. 2

Thickness of Hawxby shale member exposed.___ ___ 12. 0

Aspinwall limestone member:

5. Limestone, brown, massive, medium-grained, stratified; tan

gray flattened clay balls; fossiliferous in lower part________ 2. 1

Towle shale member:

4. Shale, variegated, tan-gray and maroon, silty; weathers tan

gray, light pink___________________________ _________ 1. 4

3. Limestone, light-gray, blocky; weathers light gray, nodular;

contains molluscs.___________________________________ . 9

2. Shale, olive-drab, blocky; weathers light green______________ 3. 7

Total thickness of Towle shale member._______________ 6. 0

Thickness of Onaga shale exposed--__________ _______ 20. 1

Wood Siding formation (part):

Brownville limestone member:

1. Limestone, brown, massive, dense; weathers tan; fossiliferous__ 2. 0

15. Section in a road cut on the south side of the SW^ sec. 2, T. 8 S., R. 10 E.

Janesville shale (part):

Five point limestone member: Feet 

26. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, hard; weathers tan gray;

coquinoidal limestone (weathered block measured)____ 0. 8

West Branch shale member:

25. Shale, black, clayey; weathers gray ____________________ 3. 8

24. Limestone, tan-gray, shaly; weathers light gray; fossiliferous . 8 

23. Shale, olive-drab, silty (mostly covered)._________________ 5. 6

22. Limestone, tan, blocky, silty; calcite veins present; weathers

tan gray__--____-___---_--------------------_------_ . 3

21. Shale, gray and olive-drab, silty (mostly covered)__________ 1. 6

20. Limestone, olive-drab, cellular____ ___________________ 1. 0

19. Shale, olive-drab, clayey; contains small white calcareous

nodules; weathers light green (partly covered)___________ 11. 0

18. Limestone, gray, platy, sandy; weathers gray, shaly________ 1. 3

17. Shale, olive-drab, clayey; weathers light gray ____________ 2. 5

16. Limestone, gray, platy; weathers gray; fault and slickensides

in ditch on north side of road _______ _____________ 1. 0
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 157

15. Section in a road cut on the south side of the SW% sec. 2, T. 8 S., R. 10 E 

Continued

Janes ville shale (part) Continued

West Branch shale member Continued Feet 

15. Shale, tan, silty; weathers tan gray (mostly covered) _______ 1. 4

14. Limestone, tan, massive to thin-bedded, sandy; weathers tan

gray, platy; fossiliferous_________________----_-------- .7

13. Shale, olive-drab, silty; weathers light gray ____________ 1. 2

Total thickness of West Branch shale member- ________ 32. 2

Thickness of Janesville shale exposed-________________ 33. 0

Falls City limestone:

12. Limestone, tan, blocky, fine-grained; soft where fresh; hard

where weathered; contains brown dendrites._____________ 1. 0

Onaga shale: ~ 

Hawxby shale member:

11. Limestone, dark-gray, blocky, fine-grained; weathers gray 1. 4 

10. Shale, olive-drab, clayey; weathers light green (mostly

covered)______________________-_____-_--__---------- 7. 7

9. Limestone, gray, nodular, weathers gray._________________ 1. 6

8. Shale, olive-drab, platy, silty; extremely calcareous in lower

part-___.._______________________________-_---_---_-- 2. 8

7. Limestone, gray, massive; contains limonite spots; weathers

gray, nodular_______________________________________ . 7

6. Shale, olive-drab, clayey; weathers light green_____________ 10. 5

Total thickness of Hawxby shale member.____________ 24. 7

Aspinwall limestone member:

5. Limestone, tan, massive; laminated, with flattened clay balls;

weathers tan______________-_________.________ _____ . 6

Towle shale member:

4. Shale, maroon, lumpy, clayey______________. ________ __ 2. 0

3. Limestone, gray, nodular; stained reddish gray from maroon

shale above_________________________________________ 2. 5

2. Shale, variegated maroon, olive-drab, silty (partly covered) 17. 5

Total thickness of Towle shale member ___________ 22. 0

Total thickness of Onaga shale_____________________ 47. 3

Wood Siding formation (part):

Brownville limestone member (part):

1. Limestone, brown, massive, dense; weathers brown; fossiliferous__________________________________ 2. 0
158 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS 

16. Section in a stream cut in NW^SW^ sec. 15, T. 9 S., R. 11 E.

Foraker limestone (part) :

Americus limestone member: Feet 

12. Limestone, gray, massive, dense; crystalline calcite commonly

replaces crinoid columnals; weathers gray____-_________ 1. 0

11. Shale, gray, silty-____-_---__-__-__-------------- __-_ .3

10. Limestone, gray, massive, dense; weathers gray; fossiliferous- _ 1. 3

Total exposed thickness of Foraker limestone. _________ 2. 6

Janesville shale (part) :

Hamlin shale member (part):

Stine shale bed (part) (Oaks shale bed and Houchen Creek limestone bed missing): 

9. Shale, tan-gray, silty, calcareous; weathers tan gray in cellular

nodules-___________-_________-_____-----_-_---_---__- 5. 8

8. Limestone, tan-gray, cellular; weathers tan gray and nodular- _ 3. 0 

7. Shale, variegated light-green and maroon, silty _ ___________ 14. 6

6. Limestone, tan-gray, concretionary, mammillary_____ _______ 1. 0

5. Shale, gray, silty_-_----_---------_----_---------- _____ 1. 6

4. Sandstone, light-green, stratified, micaceous, friable; very little

crossbedding_ _______ _ _________ _ __________________ 8. 4

3. Shale, gray, sandy; micaceous; silty at bottom. _____________ 9. 8

2. Limestone, dark-gray, massive; limonitic at top___ _________ . 8

1. Shale, gray, silty _ _____________________________________ 3.0

Total thickness of Janesville shale exposed __ _________ 48.0

17. Section in a road cut in the SE^iSE^i sec. 2, T. 10 S., R. 12 E.

Janesville shale (part) :

Fivepoint limestone member: Feet 

8. Limestone, tan, massive, coarse-grained; weathers tan gray;

contains molluscS-_________--_--__-_-------------_--_- 1. 7

West Branch shale member (part) :

7. Shale (covered)--.. __ __ _ ____________________________ 5.2

Thickness of Janesville shale exposed __________ 6. 9

Falls City limestone:

6. Limestone, resinous-brown, massive, fine-grained, dense;

weathers tan.__ ___ _______________ _ ______ _ _ __ _ . 8

Onaga shale (part) :

Hawxby shale member:

5. Shale (covered)______________ _ ________________________ 14.0

4. Limestone, gray, massive, hard, dense; becomes grayish blue 

mottled with gray toward bottom; limonite spots; contains 

some gray clay balls; weathers gray and blocky___ ________ 4. 5

3. Shale, variegated olive-drab and maroon, clayey, slightly

calcareous __ ________________________________________ 5. 2

Total thickness of Hawxby s hale member _ ___________ 23. 7

Aspinwall limestone member: - =-i 

2. Limestone, tan-gray, tan banded, massive, laminated, finegrained______________________________________________ 1. 0
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 159

17. Section in a road cut in the SEHSEH sec. 2, T. 10 S., R. 1% E Continued

Onaga shale (part) Continued Feet 

Towle shale member (part):

1. Shale, variegated olive-drab, maroon, clayey_____________ 6. 0

Thickness of Onaga shale exposed _ _____ __________ 30. 7

18. Section in a road and stream cut in the NE^NE^, sec. 28, T. 7 8., R. 10 E.

Foraker limestone (part) : Feet 

Americus limestone member (part) :

4. Limestone, gray, massive, dense; crystalline calcite commonly

replaces crinoid columnals __ __________________________ 2. 0

Janesville shale (part) :

Hamlin shale member (part) :

Stine shale bed (part) (Oaks shale bed and Houchen Creek limestone bed missing) : 

3. Shale, light-green to gray, silty, calcareous; contains gray

nodules _______________________________ 22. 0 

2. Sandstone, light-green, fine-grained, micaceous; weathers

tan_ ___ . __ _ _________________________ 6.0 

1. Shale, light-green to gray, sandy, micaceous___ ____ 1. 0

Thickness of Janesville shale exposed. ____________ __ 29. 0

19. Section in a road cut in the NEHNEH sec. 7, T. 9 S., R. 9 E.

Foraker limestone (part) :

Americus limestone member: feet 

8. Limestone, light-gray, massive, dense, hard; crystalline calcite 

commonly replaces crinoid columnals which weather out 

on face of blocks; weathers tan gray __ _ ___ __ _- 6. 9 

7. Shale, gray, silty _ _. _____ __ .__ .3 

6. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, dense, hard; crystalline calcite

commonly replaces crinoid columnals; weathers tan gray 1. 0

Thickness of Americus limestone member of Foraker limestone ________________ ____ ________ ___ 2. 2

Janesville shale (part) :

Hamlin shale member (part) :

Stine shale bed (part) (Oaks shale bed and Houchen Creek limestone bed missing) : 

5. Shale, variegated tan-gray, light-gray, light-green, olive-drab

and maroon, clayey; calcareous in upper part _ 20. 6 

4. Limestone, tan-gray, blocky, fine-grained; weathers tan gray_ . 3 

3. Shale, variegated, clayey _ _______________ _ _ __________ 3.0

2. Limestone, resinous-brown, platy, fine-grained; contains darkbrown dendrites of manganese oxide __ ______________ _ . 5

1. Shale, variegated maroon, tan-gray and olive-drab, clayey____ 2. 5

Total thickness of Janesville shale exposed-____________ 26. 9
160 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS 

20. Section in a stream cut in the NW^iNE^ sec. 26, T. 7 S., R. 9 E.

Roca shale (part) : peet 

9. Limestone, light-gray, massive, dense, flinty appearing; 

weathers dark gray with light-green streaks from overlying 

green shale____________________________________-___-__ 1. 0

8. Claystone, variegated maroon and light gray, blocky_ _______ 7.7

Thickness of Roca shale exposed______________________ 8. 7

Red Eagle limestone:

Howe limestone member:

7. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, cellular; weathers dark gray,

contains ostracodes_________________________________ 4. 0

Bennett shale member:

6. Shale, black, clayey; calcareous layer 3 feet from top; weathers

dark gray________________________________ __ 8. 7

Glenrock limestone member:

5. Limestone, gray, massive; weathers gray and shaly; fossiliferous . 5

Total thickness of Red Eagle limestone.________ _._ 13. 2

Johnson shale (part):

4. Claystone, olive-drab, blocky_______________-______-___ _ 2. 3

3. Limestone, gray, massive; weathers gray___________________ . 6

2. Shale, variegated light-gray, olive-drab and maroon, fissile to

blocky, silty; calcareous at bottom______________________ 8. 5

1. Limestone, gray, platy, dense; weathers light gray_____ _._ 3. 0

Thickn ess of Johnson shale exposed ____________ _____ 14. 4

21. Section in a road cut on the west side of the SW^SW^ sec. 16 and on the west 

side of the WY2 sec. 21, T. 9 S., R. 11 El

Grenola limestone:

Neva limestone member: Feet 

42. Limestone, light-gray massive; contains tan-gray porous

spots; weathers light gray and shaly _ _________________ 9. 0

Salem Point shale member:

41. Shale, tan, silty; weathers tan gray ______ 6. 8

Burr limestone member:

40. Limestone, gray, massive, dense; weathers gray and blocky__ 2. 5

Total thickness of Grenola limestone._________ _____ 18. 3

Roca shale:

39. Claystone, variegated olive-drab, light-gray and maroon,

blocky. Interval partly covered_______________________ 11.4

38. Limestone, light-gray, silty, shaly; weathers light gray______ 3. 5

37. Claystone, olive-drab, blocky, calcareous; weathers light

green__________________ _____ 6. 7

Total thickness of Roca shale_______ ________ ___ 21. 6

' Legion shale member and Sallyards limestone member of Grenola limestone not recognized in this section.
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 161

21. Section in a road cut on the west side of the SW^SW^ sec. 16 and on the west 

side of the WYz sec. 81, T. 9 S., R. 11 E.1 Continued

Red Eagle limestone:

Howe limestone member: Feet 

36. Limestone, tan, massive; calcite crystal pockets; weathers

tan and cavernous___________________________________ 1. 2

35. Siltstone, gray to light-gray, blocky, calcareous; weathers

gray________________________________________________ 3. 2

34. Limestone, light-gray, shaly; weathers light gray _ ________ . 5

Total thickness of Howe limestone member__ _______ 4. 9

Bennett shale member: == 

33. Siltstone, tan, blocky; weathers tan____________________ 2. 4

Glenrock limestone member: =====

32. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, dense, petroliferous; weathers

tan gray; fossiliferous_______._______________________ 1. 6

Total thickness of Red Eagle limestone________________ 8. 9

Johnson shale:

31. Shale, olive-drab to dark-gray, clayey; calcareous toward

bottom; weathers gray______________________________ 8. 9

30. Limestone, gray, platy, dense; weathers light gray_______ 2. 0

29. Siltstone, olive-drab, bloeky; weathers tan gray__________ 3.0

28. Limestone, gray, nodular, silty, limonitic; weathers gray____ . 3

27. Siltstone, olive-drab, blocky; weathers gray.

Partly covered_____________________________________ 2. 4

Total thickness of Johnson shale.____________________ 16. 6

Foraker limestone (part):

Long Creek limestone member (part):

26. Limestone, tan; crystalline with ealeitcrystale pockets;

weathers tan, nodular_____________.________--________ 6. 0

Hughes Creek shale member: =-= ' 

25. Shale, tan to tan-gray, bloeky to thin-bedded, silty, calcareous;

weathers tan gray___________________________________ 4. 8

24. Limestone, gray mottled with tan gray, massive; weathers

gray mottled with tan; fossiliferous___________________ .9

23. Shale, olive-drab, silty; weathers tan gray__....._.- ..-__ 5. 7

22. Limestone, tan, platy to nodular, silty; weathers tan gray . 2 

21. Shale, olive-drab, clayey; weathers tan gray_______________ 2. 9

20. Limestone, gray, mottled with tan gray, shaly; weathers

gray mottled with tan gray; f ossiliferous ________________ 1.0

19. Shale, gray to black, silty; weathers gray________________ 2. 0

18. Limestone, dark-gray, massive, dense; weathers dark gray;

fossiliferous________-___-.__---_-_--________------- . 2

17. Limestone, gray, shaly, weathers gray; fossiliferous_________ . 8

16. Limestone, gray, massive, dense; weathers gray and blocky;

fossiliferous_________________________________________ . 7

1ft. Claystone, gray, bloeky; weathers gray; fossiliferous________ 3. 0
162 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

21. Section in a road cvi on the west side of the SW^SW^ sec. 16 and on the west 

side of the W^i sec. 21, T. 9 S., R. 11 E. J Continued

Foraker limestone (part) Continued

Hughes Creek shale member Continued F«< 

14. Limestone, gray mottled with tan gray, massive; weathers

dark gray, shaly; fossiliferous fusulinid limestone. _____ 1. 0 

13. Shale, gray; clayey; weathers tan gray _________________ 11.4

Total Hughes Creek shale member.__________________ 34. 6

Amerieus limestone member: =====

12. Limestone, light-gray, massive, dense; some calcite cleavages;

weathers gray__-_____-____--__----_----___------_-_- 1. 0

11. Shale, tan-gray, silty; weathers tan gray-_____--______---_ . 6

10. Limestone, light-gray, massive, dense; weathers tan gray.... 1. 6

Total Amerieus limestone member____________________ 3. 2

Thickness of Foraker limestone exposed__ __________ 43.8

Janesville shale (part)

Hamlin shale member (part):

Oaks shale bed:

9. Sandstone (calcarenite composed of fragments of limestone), gray, conglomeratic; some granules, lenticular._-__ . 4 

8. Shale, gray, blocky, clayey, calcareous.___________________ . 5

7. Limestone, gray, shaly, soft; weathers shaly and nodular . 6 

6. Shale gray, to gray-green, thin-bedded, silty to clayey, calcareous; cavernous in lower part; calcareous nodules 

and plates abundant..______________________________ 14. 1

5. Shale, tan-gray, fine-grained, sandy, micaceous, noncalcareous; some sandstone lentils.._____________________ 4. 3

4. Siltstone, tan, stained with maroon, shaly, cavernous .___ . 9 

3. Shale, maroon, mottled with gray green, thin-bedded,

clayey, calcareous..__._._.__-______-___---_-_----_--- 3. 2

Total Oaks shale bed...__..__ 24. 0

Houchen Creek limestone bed:

2. Limestone, tan, hard, brittle; mammillary on upper surface;

massive algal bed.._.__-_.____________-_-_----_------- 5

Stine shale bed (part): ~ =~ 

1. Sandstone and sandy shale, tan-brown, thin to thick-bedded,

micaceous, noncalcareous; gray in upper part-.__________ 5. 6

Thickness of Janesville shale exposed.____________-_--. 30. 1

1 Legion shale member and Sallyards limestone member of Grenola limestone not recognized in this 

section.
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 163

22. Section in a stream cut in the NE^NW^ sec. 3, T. 8 S., R. 9 E. measured by 

M. R. Mudge and R. E, Skoog.

Eskridge shale (part):

65. Siltstone, grayish-green, blocky, calcareous; mottled with **«*

purple in the lower part, maroon in upper part- __________ 6. 6

Grenola limestone: = 

Neva limestone member:

64. Limestone, light-gray, massive, moderately hard; weathers

blocky; fossiliferous___-_---_--_____________--________ 4. 95

63. Shale, grayish-green, silty, calcareous; weathers light gray.. . 25 

62. Limestone, gray, massive, hard, dense; weathers tan gray and

blocky____ ___ _ _ ___ _____ ______ __ . 8

61. Shale, tan-gray, silty, caleareous_-____________-__--____-_ . 05

60. Limestone, gray, massive, moderately hard; weathers tan

gray, shaly____-_-___--__-___-__-_-____-_____---_-___ . 5

59. Shale, grayish-green, silty, very calcareous__-___-_-_______ .3

58. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, soft; some grayish-green

stains; weathers "rotten" and has a conglomeratic appearance _ ______________ _ _____________________________ 7. 1

57. Siltstone, tan-gray mottled with gray, bloeky, calcareous;

fossiliferous___--___-__________--________-__--__-____ . 9

56. Shale, very dark gray, clayey, calcareous; iron stains on

fracture planes_______-______________________________ 1. 6

55. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, moderately hard; weathers

blocky _ ._ ____ __ __ _ _ ___ __ ______ _____ _ _ 1. 7

Total Neva limestone member____________________._ 18. 15

Salem Point shale member:

54. Shale, tan-gray mottled with some gray, silty, calcareous;

some limonite stains______________________________ 1. 9

53. Limestone, light-gray, massive, moderately hard; weathers 

tan gray and blocky to shaly; numerous limonite-stained 

areas; fossiliferous_-_-_-_____--_--________-_----___-_- 1. 9

52. Shale, light gray-green, thin-bedded to blocky, silty, calcareous; some limonite stains___-__________-------____- 2. 9

Total thickness of Salem Point shale member._________ 6. 7

Burr limestone member:

51. Limestone, tan, massive, soft, blocky and porous; weathers

tan gray; fossiliferous---_--_-_-__-_______-_-__-.______- 3. 8

50. Shale, very dark gray, clayey, nonealcareous; mottled in

some places with tan gray; some limonite-stained zones-_. 1. 4 

49. Limestone, tan-gray mottled with gray, massive, hard;

weathers blocky; some fossil fragments.________________ 2. 3

Total thickness of Burr limestone member.___________ 7. 5
164 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

22. Section in a stream cut in the NE^NW]^ sec. 3, T. 8 S., R. 9 E. measured by 

M. R. Mudge and R. E. Skoog Continued

Grenola limestone Continued

Legion shale member: Feet 

48. Shale, tan-gray, bloeky, silty, calcareous; some iron stains, _ 0. 7 

47. Shale, light-gray to gray, bloeky, silty, ealcareous__-_--___ 4. 1

Total thickness of Legion shale member-_____________ 4. 8

Sallyards limestone member:

46. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, hard, dense; weathers bloeky,

fossiliferous in upper part________-__-_____-___________ . 9

Total thickness of Grenola limestone ______________ _ _ 38. 05

Roea shale:

45. Shale, dark grayish-green, silty, calcareous; small round-toangular lime grains very abundant; weathers light grayish

green and bloeky___________________________________ . 7

44. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, hard, dense; has grayish-green

tint; weathers light gray and bloeky to nodular; some iron

stains_________________-______-__--__---____--___.._ 1.4

43. Siltstone, grayish-green, bloeky, calcareous; mottled in some

places with grayish brown; numerous limonite stains_____ 4. 3 

42. Siltstone, very light gray, bloeky, calcareous; some limonite

stains_____________________________________________ . 9

41. Clay stone, dark grayish-green, calcareous; weathers gray to

grayish green, bloeky______-___-___-______-___--__---_ 2. 4

40. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, hard, dense in part; has

grayish-green tint; weathers light gray and bloeky; some

limonite stains______________________________________ 1. 8

39. Siltstone, grayish-green, bloeky, calcareous.___-_____-_____ . 2

38. Limestone, light-gray, massive, hard, dense; weathers bloeky

to shaly___________________________________________ 1. 2

37. Siltstone, green, bloeky, calcareous; mottled with maroon in

the middle part__________-__-___-_-------__------__-_ 4. 4

Total Roea shale___________________________ 17. 3

Red Eagle limestone:

Howe limestone member:

36. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, moderately hard; porous with 

some of the pore spaces filled with calcite; some limonite 

stains; weathers tan; bloeky; fossiliferous in middle parb_. 1. 4 

35. Shale, tan-gray, silty, calcareous; weathers gray; some

limonite stains_____________________-__--__-----_---- . 4

34. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, soft, dolomitic; numerous

limonite stains; weathers tan, bloeky and in thin chips.___ 2. 5

Total thickness of Howe limestone member____________ 4. 3
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 165

22. Section in a stream cut in the NE^iNW^ sec. 3, T. 8 S., R. 9 E. measured by 

M. R. Mudge and R. E. Skoog Continued

Red Eagle limestone Continued

Bennett shale member: Feet 

33. Shale, dark-gray, silty, calcareous; weathers gray; some iron

stains; fossiliferous; some microfossils in the lower part___ 3. 2 

Glenrock limestone member: - 

32. Limestone, gray, massive, hard, crystalline in part; weathers

brown and bloeky ; fossiliferous at top _____ ___________ .5

Total thickness of Red Eagle limestone_______________ 8. 0

Johnson shale:

31. Shale, dark grayish-brown, silty, calcareous; weathers gray; 

dark gray specks numerous in lower part; limonite stains 

in upper part: mierofossils abundant in upper part _______ . 6

30. Claystone, gray, very calcareous: mottled with light gray; 

dark-gray clay balls abundant (flat, angular; some have 

maximum diameter of three-fourths of an inch); some iron 

stains on fracture planes; weathers light gray and bloeky__ 1. 5

29. Claystone, dark-gray, bloeky, calcareous; some iron stains

on fracture planes_________________________________-_- 4.7

28. Limestone, gray, massive, hard, dense; weathers tan gray,

bloeky to platy______________________________________ 1. 0

27. Siltstone, tan-gray, bloeky, calcareous; some lime nodules__ . 2

26. Limestone, dark grayish-brown, moderately hard; weathers

tan gray and bloeky; some iron stains______.___-__---_- . 1

25. Claystone, dark-gray, noncaleareous; mottled with grayish 

green; fractures 60° from the horizontal; iron stains on 

fracture planes; weathers light grayish green, bloeky_ _ _ _ _ .4

24. Limestone, light-gray to tan-gray, massive, soft, dolomitie

in part; weathers light gray, bloeky to shaly___________ 1. 3

23. Limestone, grayish-brown, massive, hard; weathers light gray

and bloeky to shaly; some iron stams_____-____________- . 4

22. Siltstone, grayish-green, calcareous; limestone lenses in middle; limonite and iron stains on fracture planes; weathers 

light grayish green; blocky_____-________-_____-------- 4. 6

21. Claystone, gray, bloeky to thin-bedded, very calcareous; 

fractures at 45° from the horizontal; weathers light gray; 

basal part weathers nodular___-__------_-__-__---_---_ 5. 7

20. Claystone, grayish-green, nonealcareous; weathers light

grayish green and bloeky; limonite stains on fracture planes. 1. 0

19. Siltstone, maroon, bloeky; calcareous, mottled with grayish

green_______________________________________________ .9

18. Siltstone, grayish-green, bloeky, calcareous; fine-grained lime

lenses near the top____-____-___--___--______---_---_- 3. 8

Total thickness of Johnson shale_______--__-________- 26. 2
166 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

22. Section in a stream cut in the NE&NWH sec. 3, T. 8 S., R. 9 E. measured by 

M. R. Mudge and R. E. Skoog Continued

Foraker limestone (part) : 2

Long Creek limestone member: Feet 

17. Limestone, tan, massive, soft, porous, dolomitic; ealcite-lined

cavities abundant; weathers to irregular blocks and plates. _ 4. 1 

16. Shale, tan-gray, silty, calcareous. ________________________ .3

15. Limestone, tan, massive, moderately hard; weathers blocky;

fossiliferous __ __ ____________________________________ .5

14. Shale, dark-gray, silty, calcareous; weathers light gray______ . 3

13. Limestone, grayish-brown, massive, medium-hard; weathers

tan gray and blocky to shaly; iron stains abundant near

the base____________________________________________ 2. 1

Total thickness of Long Creek limestone member _ ___ 7. 3

Hughes Creek shale member (part):

12. Shale, dark-gray, thin-bedded to bloeky, clayey, noncalcareous ; weathers gray; extremely fossiliferous___________ 3. 8

11. Siltstone, dark-gray, blocky, calcareous, very calcareous in

the top part; weathers gray; fossiliferous_______________ 1.8

10. Limestone, dark-gray, massive, soft; weathers gray, shaly and

in irregular fragments; fossiliferous _____________________ .9

9. Shale, dark-gray, thin-bedded to blocky, silty, calcareous;

weathers gray, some iron-stained areas; fossiliferous______ 2. 1

8. Limestone, tan-brown, massive, moderately hard; weathers

blocky; some limonite stains on surface; fossiliferous____ 1. 2

7. Shale, dark-gray, silty, calcareous; more calcareous in the

lower part; weathers gray; extremely fossiliferous-________ 5. 8

6. Limestone, dark-gray, massive, moderately hard; weathers tangray and blocky to shaly-__-_-____---__--_-_ _______ 1. 1

5. Shale, dark-gray, clayey, slightly calcareous; weathers gray,

fossiliferous________________-__-__-____----_-__--__-_ . 6

4. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, moderately hard; weathers

bloeky; some carbon specks__-___--_____--____________ . 9

3. Siltstone, dark-gray, blocky, slightly calcareous; weathers

gray __________ ___ _ 2. 8

2. Limestone, tan to tan-brown, massive, soft; numerous clay 

balls; weathers tan, bloeky and to irregular nodules; limonite 

stains abundant; fossiliferous____-_--___----___----___- 1. 5

1. Shale, dark-gray, clayey, noncaleareous; some light-gray 

lenses; blocky in the upper part and thin bedded toward 

the base; weathers gray; some iron stains on fracture planes, 

numerous large fractures at an angle of 30° from the horizontal-___________________--____--_____-______--_-__ 8. 1

Thickness of Hughes Creek shale member exposed.___ 30. 6

Thickness of Foraker limestone exposed.___________ 37. 9

2 As part of a local structure, the Americus limestone member Is exposed 75 yards to the east.
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 167

23. Section in a stream cut in the SW^iSE^ sec. 24, T. 7 S., R. 9 E.

Eskridge shale (part) : Feel 

7. Shale, variegated, blocky to fissile, silty__________________ 10. 0

Grenola limestone (part) : 

Neva limestone member:

6. Limestone, light-gray, massive, soft; weathers gray, shaly

with tan-gray porous spots; fossiliferous __ ____________ 8. 7

Salem Point shale member (part):

5. Shale, silty; olive drab at top, black in middle, dark gray at

bottom..___________________________________________ . 9

4. Limestone, dark-gray, laminated; black and tan-gray layer 

0.6 foot from top contains pyrite nodules; weathers gray, 

shaly near bottom________________________ 2. 0

3. Siltstone, olive-drab, blocky____________________________ 2. 0

2. Limestone, dark-grg,y, platy; weathers gray; fossiliferous___ 1. 0 

1. Shale, gray, silty__________________________________ 1.0+

Thickness of Salem Point shale member exposed._______ 6. 9

Thickness of Grenola limestone exposed __ ____________ 15. 6

24. Section in a road cut on Kansas State Highway 63, SW^NE^ sec. 34, T. 9 S.,

R. 12 E. 

Grenola limestone (part) :

Salem Point shale member (part) : Feet 

10. Shale, olive-drab, silty; weathers light gray __ __________ 4.0

Burr limestone member:

9. Ostracode fragments!, tan-gray; has sandy appearance; weathers tan gray___--_-_-____-_____________-_-___-___ . 3

8. Limestone, light-gray, massive, fine-grained; small tan-gray

pockets; weathera tan gray___________._______________ 4. 0

7. Shale, black to olive-drab, fissile to blocky, clayey; weathers

gray ._ 2. 0

6. Limestone, dark-grs,y, massive to shaly; weathers gray to tan

gray; fossiliferous________-____________________-____- 2. 4

Total Burr limestone member_________-_-_-_-____-_ 8. 7

Legion shale member:

5. Siltstone, olive-drab, blocky; slightly calcareous in middle

and lower parts; weathers tan gray _ _________________ 4. 9

Sallyards limestone member:

4. Limestone, light gray, massive, dense; weathers gray______ . 8

Thickness of Grenola limestone exposed__ __ _ _______ 18.4

Roea shale (part):

3. Shale, oh've-drab, silty; weathers light gray_____________ 2.4

2. Limestone, light-gray, massive, dense; weathers tan gray to

dark gray._____.___________________________________ . 7

1. Siltstone, variegated olive-drab, maroon, bloeky, hard.__-_ 11.0

Thickness of Roea shale exposed____________________ 14. 1
168 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

25. Section in a road cut in the NE%NEM sec. 34, T. 8 S., R. 7 E.

Beattie limestone (part):

Cottonwood limestone member: Feet 

14. Limestone, gray, massive, cherty; weathers gray; fossiliferous- 5. 8

Eskridge shale:

13. Shale, gray, silty, calcareous; weathers gray__-____________ 5. 9

12. Limestone, light-gray, blocky, dense flinty appearing;

weathers light gray_________________________________ . 7

11. Shale, lavender and light-gray, silty, ealcareous___-________ 3. 0

10. Shale, gray, silty; weathers gray.------_--------_--__-___ .3

9. Limestone, gray, fine-grained, hard; weathers gray,________ . 2

8. Shale, gray, silty; weathers gray___-_-__-____---_-_______ .4

7. Limestone, gray, fine-grained, hard; weathers gray.________ . 4

6. Shale, gray, silty, calcareous; weathers gray.______________ 3. 6

5. Siltstone, light-gray, nodular; weathers light gray. _________ . 5

4. Shale, variegated light-gray, dark-gray and maroon, silty____ 16. 0

Total Eskridge shale-__-___-----__--_--_------___-_ 31. 0

Grenola limestone (part):

Neva limestone member (part):

3. Limestone, gray, fine-grained; weathers gray _______________ .6

2. Limestone, gray, shaly, fine-grained; weathers gray._______ . 8

1. Limestone, gray, massive, medium-hard; fine-grained with

tan-gray porous pockets; weathers dark gray.____________ 5. 0

Thickness of Neva limestone member of the Grenola limestone exposed___________________________________ 6. 4

26. Section in a stream cut in the SW%NW% sec. 10, T. 6 S., R. 8 E.

Beattie limestone:

Morrill limestone member: Feet 

8. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, sandy; calcite crystal cavities;

weathers dark gray__________________________________ 4. 0

7. Limestone, gray, massive, soft, fine-grained; ealeite crystal

cavities; weathers light gray___---_- ____-__---___---___ 1.6

6. Limestone, gray, platy, fine-grained; weathers gray._________ 1. 7

5. Limestone, dark-gray, shaly; weathers dark gray; fossiliferous. . 7 

4. Limestone, dark-gray, massive; crystalline ealeite commonly

replaces erinoid eolumnals; weathers dark gray; fossiliferous- 1. 3 

3. Limestone, dark-gray, shaly; weathers dark gray..._________ 1. 2

Total Morrill limestone member _____________________ 10. 5

Florena shale member:

2. Shale, dark-gray, silty; weathers dark gray; extremely

fossiliferous______________. _______________________ 3. 8

Cottonwood limestone member: ===== 

1. Limestone, light-gray, massive; chert nodules scarce; weathers

gray and shaly; fossiliferous---------------------------- 7. 0

Total Beattie limestone__-_---------__--_---_-------- 21. 3
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 169

27. Section in a road cut in the NW^SW^i sec. SO, T. 8 S.t R. 8 E.

Stearns shale: feet 

14. Siltstone, gray, platy, calcareous (almost a limestone);

weathers tan gray mottled with gray___________________ 1. 7

13. Siltstone, gray; weathers into small gray flakes.___-__-__-- .6

12. Claystone, black, platy; weathers dark gray.-------------- . 6

11. Shale, gray, calcareous; weathers gray._________________ . 6

10. Siltstone, gray, blocky; weathers gray.___________________ 1. 1

9. Limestone, gray, isilty; weathers white, nodular.___________ . 7

8. Siltstone, grayish- brown, blocky; weathers gray. ___________ 4.0

Total Stearns! shale_______._-___-_-___-_______-__- 9. 3

Beattie limestone (part):

Morrill limestone member:

7. Limestone, gray, dense, petroliferous, hard; weathers tan

gray; fossiliferous-____-_--__-__--_--_--__--_------__- 1. 4

6. Shale, light-gray, clayey; weathers light gray._-__--_-_____ . 7

5. Limestone, light-gray, fine-grained, hard; weathers light

gray _____________________________________________ . 6

4. Limestone, gray, shaly; weathers gray.------_--_--_---_-_ 1.0

3. Limestone, gray, silty, dense; weathers gray__----_________ . 6

Total Morrill limestone member,____________________

4. 3

Florena shale member:

2. Shale, gray, calcareous; chalcedony nodules in upper 0.3 foot;

weathers gray; fossiliferous-_---_----_----_--_---_-_-_- 1. 7 

1. Limestone, gray, bloeky; weathers gray; fossiliferous_._-__- 1. 3

Thickness of Florena shale member exposed-__________ 3. 0

Thickness of Beattie limestone exposed _______________ 7. 3

28. Section in a road cut in the SE^NE^i sec. 25, T. 7 S., R. 8 E.

Bader limestone:

Middleburg limestone member: Ft* 

18. Limestone, gray, massive; weathers gray and bloeky;

fossiliferous__.._______________-__-_-_--__-_------__-_ 2. 0

Hooser shale member: 

17. Shale, light-gray, calcareous; weathers light gray_-_-_---_ .8 

16. Shale, olive-drab, blocky, clayey___-_____---__------_---_ . 4

15. Shale, silty; gray in upper part, tan in lower part. _________ 2. 0

14. Shale, maroon, clayey; secondary calcium carbonate nodules in

lower part __ ____________._-____-__---.__-__-__--_-__ 1. 5

Total Hooser shale member. ______.._--___-_-__-____ 4.7
170 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

28. Section in a road cut in the SE% NE% sec. 25, T. 7 S., R. 8 # -Continued

Bader limestone Continued

Eiss limestone member: *"««* 

13. Limestone, gray, massive; coarse and pitted in upper part;

dense in lower part; weathers gray.____________________ 1. 8

12. Shale, light-gray, clayey, calcareous; weathers light gray____ 1. 6

11. Limestone, light-gray, limonitie; conglomeratic in lower 0.1

foot; weathers light gray; extremely fossiliferous_________ 1. 0

Total Eiss limestone member- _______________________ 4. 4

Total thickness of Bader limestone,__________________ 11. 1

Stearns shale:

10. Siltstone, light-gray, nodular, calcareous; weathers light gray. 3. 3 

9. Limestone, gray, shaly, platy; dense in upper part and fissile

in lower part________________-______________________ 2. 6

8. Claystone, black, blocky; weathers to dark-gray flakes__-___ . 6

7. Claystone, olive-drab, blocky____________________________ 1.0

6. Shale, light-brown, clayey; weathers tan __________________ .6

5. Limestone, weathers gray, dense; mottled grayish brown____ .3

4. Claystone, dark-green, blocky; weathers dark gray_________ 1.3

3. Claystone, light-green, bloeky; weathers light gray.________ .5

2. Claystone, maroon, blocky; weathers maroon._____________ 1. 6

Total Stearns shale_______________________________ 11. 8

Beattie limestone (part):

Morrill limestone member:

I. Limestone, gray, blocky; conglomeratic in upper part; weathers

gray _________ __ _. _ 1. 4

29. Section in a road cut in the SWy4NW% sec. 15, T. 7 S., R. 9 E.

Funston limestone: feet

II. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, cherty; weathers dark gray__ 2. 7 

Blue Rapids shale:

10. Shale, variegated olive-drab, maroon and light-gray, blocky,

clayey, calcareous; contains amethyst crystals ___________ 14. 7

Grouse limestone:

9. Limestone, light-gray, platy, dense, flinty appearing; weathers

light gray ______________ _ ___ ___ 3. 5

8. Shale, tan-gray, clayey__________________________________ 1.0

7. Limestone, gray, massive, dense; weathers tan gray; abundant

small tan gastropods-___-_--___--__--------__--___-__- . 7

6. Shale, tan-gray, clayey; weathers light gray; limestone 0.1

foot thick near top____________________________________ 5. 7

5. Limestone, upper part is light gray; weathers gray shaly; lower

part is gray with tan-gray porous spots; massive; weathers

dark gray and cavernous; fossiliferous___________________ 5. 3

Total Grouse limestone._--________-_---___--____---- 16.2
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 171

29. Section in a road cut in the SW}4 NW]4 sec. 15, T. 7 S., R. 9 E Continued

Easly Creek shale: &#

4. Shale, light-gray, blocky, clayey; weathers light gray._______ 5. 4

3. Shale, maroon, shaly, calcareous; weathers maroon__________ . 5

2. Siltstone, variegated maroon, light-gray and olive-drab, blocky. 9. 2

Total Easly Creek shale______________-_____-__-_ 15. 1

Bader limestone (part):

Middleburg limestone member:

1. Limestone; upper part gray with limonite spots, weathers gray;

lower part tan gray, massive, dense, weathers tan gray____ 1. 5

30. Section in a road cut in the NW%NW}£ sec. 10, T. 7 S., R. 9 E.

Funston limestone (part): feet 

7. Limestone, tan, massive, cavernous; mottled salt-and-pepper

appearance on fresh surface; soft at top, hard at bottom;

weathers grayish brown _____________________________ 1. 9

Blue Rapids shale:

6. Shale, olive-drab, clayey, contains amethyst crystals; weathers

light green__-----_--____-_________________________ 1. 7

5. Limestone, tan-gray,, nodular, shaly; weathers tan gray _______ .8

4. Shale, grayish-brown, silty, calcareous; contains amethyst

crystals; weathers gray________________________________ 2. 3

3. Siltstone, olive-drab, platy; weathers light green.___________ 1. 1

2. Siltstone, variegated olive-drab, maroon, and dark-gray,

blocky; lumpy calcareous zones and calcareous nodules

throughout_________________________________________ 12. 5

Total Blue Rapids shale___________________ 18. 4

Grouse limestone (part):

1. Limestone, light-gray, platy; weathers light gray with lightgreen stains in upper part____________________ 5. 7

31. Section in a road cut in the SE^SE^ sec. 9, T. 7 S., R. 9 E.

Funston limestone: *"««* 

5. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, cavernous; weathers dark gray. 1. 2 

4. Chert, case hardened calcareous layer on outer one-half inch 

of nodules and blue hard chert on inside. (Chert is rarely 

present in Funston limestone)_________________________ . 2

3. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, pitted; weathers tan gray with 

pits becoming rusty; when chert nodules are absent, this 

layer is part of upper 1.2 foot massive limestone, making 

total of 2 feet___________________________ . 6

2. Limestone, tan-grajr, massive, dense; weathers tan gray with 

gray flecks of calcite throughout. Chalcedony nodules 

found in some places at top of this layer _ _ ___ _- .7

Total Funston limestone--________--___---____------- 2. 7

Blue Rapids shale (part):

1. Shale, olive-drab, clayey; with chalcedony nodules, quartz

crystals, and calcite geodes; weathers tan gray______ 2. 0
172 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

32. Section in a road and stream cut in the NW^SE^ sec. 4, T. 7 S., R. 7 E.

Wref ord limestone (part) :

Schroyer limestone member (part) : Feet 

18. Limestone, gray to tan-gray, massive, crossbedded, sandy;

weathers gray and pitted __ ________-___---_____--____ 2. 0

17. Limestone, tan-gray, platy; weathers to thin plates _____ 5. 2

Thickness of Schroyer limestone member exposed________ 7. 2

Havensville shale member:

16. Shale, tan-gray, silty; weathers tan gray__________________ 5. 0

15. Limestone, gray, massive, laminated; weathers tan gray; contains pelecypods__________________-_-__------_-_------ 2.7

14. Shale, gray, silty; weathers gray._--_----_--__-------__-- 4.6

13. Shale, black, clayey; weathers dark gray.------.---------- 1.8

Total Havensville shale member.____________________ 14. 1

Threemile limestone member (part):

12. Limestone, gray; platy; cherty; weathers tan gray__ _____ 2. 6

11. Limestone, gray; massive; dense; pock marked; weathers

gray _________ _______________________ 1. 6

10. Chert, bluish-gray; vertical fractures________---_-__-_____ .4

9. Limestone, gray, dense; weathers gray.___________________ .2

8. Shale, gray, silty__________________-_---_--_--_------_ . 2

7. Limestone, light-gray, massive, fine-grained; weathers gray. . 8 

6. Shale, gray, silty______________-_______---__-___----- . 2

5. Chert, bluish-gray; vertical fractures present______________ .5

4. Limestone, light-gray, massive; weathers gray-__---__--__- . 5

Total Threemile limestone member__________________ 7. 0

Thickness of Wref ord limestone exposed _______________ 28. 3

Speiser shale:

3. Shale, black, silty; weathers dark gray__._-_--_-----_-----_ 1.8

2. Limestone, gray to gray mottled with tan, very extensive;

weathers gray_____________________---_--__--__--____- . 45

1. Shale, variegated, silty_______________-__-___----_-___-- 17.4

Total Speiser shale__ _ ___________________ 19. 65 

33. Section in a road cut in the NW}iSE^i sec. 5, T. 8 S. t R. 7 E.

Barneston limestone (part):

Florence limestone member: *"«*

17. Limestone, gray, massive, cherty; contains bluish-gray chert. 13. 0 

Matfield shale:

Blue Springs shale member:

16. Siltstone, variegated, blocky; mostly covered_-_-_----_-__ 35. 0

Kinney limestone member:

15. Limestone, light-gray, massive, soft fine-grained; yellow

around cavities; weathers gray_________--------..----_ 2.0

Wymore shale member:

14. Shale, silty; tan gray in upper part, maroon in lower part__ 17. 5

Total thickness of Matfield shale________________ 54. 5
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 173

33. Section in a road cvA in the NWYtSE^i sec. 5, T. 8 S., R. 7 E. Continued

Wreford limestone:

Schroyer limestone member: f«t 

13. Limestone, light-gray, massive, coarsely crystalline; weathers

gray___________________________________ 2.4

12. Shale, light-gray, silty, calcareous_______________________- 1. 2

11. Limestone, gray, massive, fossih'ferous.___________________ 1.0

10. Limestone, gray, massive, cherty; weathers gray; fossiliferous. 2. 0 

9. Limestone, gray, massive; only slightly cherty; weathers gray. 1. 6 

8. Shale, tan-gray, clayey_______________________________ .8

7. Limestone, tan-gray, platy, petroliferous; contains lenses of

shale; weathers tan gray__________________________ 4. 5

6. Limestone, gray, massive, finely crystalline; yellow porous

pockets; weathers gray; fossiliferous-__-__-___---__-____ 2. 0

5. Limestone, gray, massive, crossbedded; flattened mud balls;

crystalline; varies in thickness laterally; weathers gray__ . 8 

4. Limestone, tan-gray, platy, crystalline; weathers tan gray... 2. 7

Total Schroyer limestone member____________-_-_.--_ 19. 0

Havensville shale member:

3. Siltstone, tan-gray, blocky; weathers tan gray_____________ 17. 0

Threemile limestone member:

2. Limestone, gray, massive, cherty; weathers gray ___________ 7. 2

Total Wreford limestone._____._____________ 43. 2

Speiser shale (part):

1. Claystone, variegated, blocky; persistent thin limestone bed

near top.___-__________-_-_-__-_-_-_-___ _______ 11. 6

34. Section in a stream cut in the NE^NW^, sec. 28, T. 7 S., R. 8 E.

Wreford limestone (part):

Schroyer limestone member: *"««* 

7. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, cherty; weathers gray; fossiliferous_______________________________________________ 4. 0

6. Limestone, tan-gray, blocky; small cavities lined with calcite

crystals; weathers tan gray___--------------_-~--------- 1. 8

5. Shale, tan gray, calcareou8__--_-__-_--__--_---__--------- . 7

4. Limestone, light-gray, massive; weathers gray_.__ _ ___ . & 

3. Shale, tan-gray, silty, calcareous.--._________---_--__-_--- .4

2. Limestone, tan-gray, platy, soft, medium coarse-grained _ 5.4

Total Schroyer limestone member__-___________-_-_--- 13. 1

Havensville shale member (part):

1. Shale, gray, thin-bedded, sandy______________.---_-__--- 6. 2

Thickness of Wreford limestone exposed_______________ 19. 3
174 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS 

35. Section in a road cut in the NW^NW^ sec. 20, T. 6 S., R. 8 E.

Wreford limestone (part) : Feet 

Threemile limestone member (part) :

3. Limestone, gray, massive, cherty; weathers gray__-__-______ 5. 0

Speiser shale:

2. Shale, variegated, clayey: calcareous zone at base_ __________ 13. 8

Funston limestone:

1. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, cavernous; weathers tan gray__ 1. 5

36. Section in a road cut on Kansas State Highway 99, in the

sec. S, T.7S.,R.9 E. 

Wreford limestone (part) :

Schroyer limestone member (part) : Feet 

6. Chert fragments, residual, brown stains present. ____________ 4.0

Havensville shale member:

5. Shale, tan-gray, calcareous; limestone lenses and cellular 

beds throughout; chalcedony nodules and quartz crystals 

scattered through shale; weathers light gray; fossiliferous__ 20. 1 

Threemile limestone member:

4. Limestone, gray, massive, cherty; weathers gray; fossiliferous- 7.0

Thickness of Wreford limestone exposed _______________ 31.1

Speiser shale (part) :

3. Shale, gray, clayey; weathers gray; fossiliferous__ __________ 2. 3

2. Limestone, gray, massive; weathers gray; extensive ___ _____ . 4

1. Shale, variegated, clayey _ ________________________ _____ 4. 0

Thickness of Speiser shale exposed. ___________________ 6. 7

37. Section in a road cut in the NW^NW^i sec. 36, T. 7 S., R. 7 E.

Barneston limestone:

Fort Riley limestone member:

15. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, porous; limonite stained where Feet 

cavities occur; coarse crystalline; weathers tan gray; cavities lined with calcite crystals in lower foot; fossiliferous___ 2. 6 

14. Shale, tan-gray, silty, calcareous; weathers tan gray in small

chips... _ ____________________ ___________ ____ . 9

13. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, fine-grained; weathers tan gray___ 1. 6 

12. Limestone, tan-gray, shaly; weathers tan gray; fossiliferous__ 5. 9

Total Fort Riley limestone member._________________ 11.0

Oketo shale member:

11. Shale, tan-gray, calcareous, fossiliferous_________________ 5. 9

10. Limestone, gray, massive, fossiliferous__________________ . 8

9. Shale, tan-gray, silty, calcareous___-_---__-_-_-__---____ 6. 0

Total Oketo shale member__________________________ 12. 7
GEOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY 175

37. Section in a road cut in the NW^iNW^ sec. 86, T. 7 S., R. 7 E. Continued

Barneston limestone Continued 

Florence limestone member:

8. Limestone, massive, cherty; beds of bluish-gray chert nodules Feet

alternate with 0.6 foot beds of light-gray dense limestone;

fossiliferous ______ _______________________________ 24. 0

7. Shale, gray, silty, calcareous___________________________ . 5

6. Limestone, gray; with flattened chert nodules___________ . 6

5. Shale, gray, silty, calcareous_______________________ . 5

4. Limestone, tan-gray; contains flattened chert nodules_____ .4

3. Shale, gray, silty, calcareous___________________________ 1. 3

2. Limestone, gray, nodular, limonite spots.________________ . 3

Total Florence limestone member.--..-_____________ 27. 6

Total Barneston limestone. ____ ___ ____-_-___-_____- 51. 3

Matfield shale (part) ;

Blue Springs shale member (part) :

1. Shale, variegated light-green, light-gray, and maroon, silty,

hard_______. ______________ _ ________________________ 14. 7

38. Section in a road cut in the SE^NE^ sec. 10, T. 7 S., R. 7 E.

Doyle shale (part) :

Towanda limestone member (part) : Feet 

I. Limestone, tan gray, platy, medium hard, porous, contains

calcite cavities; weathers tan_____________________-___- 14. 2

39. Section in a road cut on Kansas State Highway 16, SE^NW^ sec. 16, T. ? S.,

R. 8 E. 

Doyle shale (part) :

Holmes ville shale member (part) : Feet 

10. Shale, tan, silty, calcareous; weathers tan _________________ 2. 0

9. Limestone, tan, blocky; weathers tan_______--___- -------- 1.0

8. Shale, tan, silty, calcareous _ ___________________________ 4. 0

7. Shale, gray, clayey; weathers gray______________-_----___ 3. 9

6. Shale, tan, sandy, limonitic; weathers tan____ _____________ 1. 0

5. Limestone, brown, hard, crystalline; weathers tan___ _______ . 4

4. Siltstone, tan, blocky, calcareous; weathers tan. ___________ 2. 8

3. Limestone, tan-gray, slightly spongy appearing; cavities with

calcite crystals; weathers tan gray __ __________________ 6. 0

2. Siltstone, tan-gray, blocky, calcareous; cavities lined with

calcite crystals __ ___________________________________ 5. 9

Thickness of Doyle shale exposed._____--_______-_--_ 27. 0

Barneston limestone (part):

Fort Hiley limestone member (part):

1. Limestone, tan-gray, massive; calcite crystal pockets; weathers

gray_ _.__ ______ _______ __._ 6. 0
176 GEOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, NORTHEAST KANSAS

40. Section in a road cut in the SE}£NE}4 sec. 9, T. 7 S., R. 7 E.

Doyle shale (part):

Towanda limestone member (part): F«* 

5. Limestone, tan-gray, platy; contains calcite geodes; weathers

tan_____________________-__.______._-_ 2.0+

Holmesville shale member:

4. Shale, tan-gray, silty, calcareous; weathers tan__ ________ 15. 4

3. Limestone, tan-gray, nodular; contains calcite geodes; weathers

tan gray_-____-_-_-____-__--_-__--_- __--__._______ . 5

2. Shale, tan-gray, silty, calcareous; weathers tan__.__-_______ 16. 6

Total Holmesville shale member._.__-________-___-__ 32. 5

Thickness of Doyle shale exposed-___________________ 34. 5

Barneston limestone (part):

Fort Riley limestone member (part):

1. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, pitted; weathers gray; fossiliferous______________________-_____---__--------_--_-__ 5. 0

41. Section in a road cut in the SE^iSE^i sec. 10, T. 7 S., R. 7 E.

Doyle shale (part):

Towanda limestone member: feet 

6. Limestone, tan-gray, massive, crystalline; with calcite crystal

cavities; weathers tan gray; four separate beds. _______ 2. 6

5. Shale, tan-gray, clayey, calcareous.______-__-_--_-----_--_ .3

4. Limestone, tan-gray to light-gray, platy, fine-grained; weathers

tan gray_________________________ ________ _____ 4. 3

3. Limestone, gray, massive, fine-grained; weathers tan gray____ 2. 6

2. Limestone, tan-gray, platy to massive, coarse-grained; many

cavities lined with calcite crystals; weathers tan gray_.____ 4. 0

Total Towanda limestone member------------------- 13. 8

Holmesville shale member (part):

1. Shale, tan-gray, nodular, clayey; weathers lumpy ___________ 3. 1

Thickness of Doyle shale exposed.___________________ 16. 9
INDEX

Page 

Acknowledgments..... . ... __ 105-106

Admire group 116-119 

Agate 132

Aggregate, for concrete_. ___. _____ 140-142 

Algae . . . 113,118,119 

Alluvium................................... 138-139

Americus limestone member_..__.___ 119,

145,146,158,159,162

Amethyst crystals... ... . 125 

Aspinwall limestone member ______ 117,

146,154,156,157,158

Attenuated drift border... __________ 99 

Auburn shale...____.__... _ 110-111,150

Bader limestone.________ 123-124,169-170,171 

Barite crystals...-. 116 

Barneston limestone____ 128-129,172,175,176 

Seattle limestone...___..__._ 122-123,168,169 

Bennett shale member_________ 120,160,161 

Bern limestone. 110,148,149,150

Big Blue River.._______...__ 99,101,102,141

valley of._________________ 101

Bignell silt member.. _ . .. 136

Blue Rapids shale___.__....... ..... 170,171

Blue Springs shale member______ 127-128,175 

Brownville limestone member.. 116,145,154,155,156 

Burlingame limestone member... . 110,149,150 

Burr limestone member_______.. 121,160,163

Calcite crystals. .... Ill, 116.120,123,129,130

Carnahan Creek_.____..._.. __.. 102 

Cat Creek..____._........._._..... 116

Cedar Creek.______._....._...._ 102

Cedar Vale shale member.....__ ..... 109,148

Celestlte^rystate __ .... _._ 116,120

Chalcedony 123,125,126

Chase group_ ... .... 126-130

Chert gravel, defined_._........ _.... 143

Clear Creek________....___..__.. 102

Climate ............. .. . . 102-104

Coal . .. 112

Colluvium__...__ . ...... 137

Concretions, limestone..._.____-_ 116 

Cottonwood limestone member__ 122-123,145,168 

Council Grove group. . 119-126 

Crete sand and gravel member.. _ . . 136 

Cross Creek________...___..__.. 102 

Gronae limestone.... ...... 124-125,170,171

Dissected till plains. . 99 

Dover limestone member__.._ ___ 113,152,153 

Doyle shale....... 129-130,175,176

Drainage. 101-102,133-135

Drift Plains, Kansas_____________ 99

Page 

Dry and Friedrich shale members, undifferentiated.__________... 113-114 

Dry and Pony Creek shale members, undifferentiated . ........... 115-116,154

Dune sand..__.___.__.__ ___. 136

Easly Creek shale.._____________ 124,171 

Eiss limestone member. . . ... 124 

Elmo coal____________. __. ___ 109 

Elmont limestone member_____ 111, 133,150,151 

Emporialimestone...... ....... Ill, 150,151,152

Erratics..______________ ___- 132

defined _________. _______ 99,130

Eskridge shale.. . 122,168

Falls City limestone 117,154,157,158

Faults______._.... .__ _ 139

Fern leaves, fossil___________-__ 116 

Five Point limestone member. ____ 118,146,158 

Flint Hills.. 99

Flint Hills upland__________. __ 99 

Flint Hills escarpment.........._..._.... 99

Flood of 1903 . . 101 

Florena shale member____. __ . 123,168,169 

Florence limestone member _____. __ 128,172 

Foraker limestone.____._ 119-120,161-162,166 

Fort Riley limestone member..__ .... 128-129,

146,174,175,176 

French Creek....._..... . 102

French Creek shale member....__ . 114-115,155

Funston limestone. _______ 146,170,171,174 

Fusulinlds-.. . ... 110, 111, 112,113

Geography... 99-101 

Glacial oatwjash_......... .. 132-133

defined. - 99 

Glaciolacustrine deposits. 133,135-136

defined____ _- ... 99 

Glenrock limestone member .. 120,160,161 

Qrandhaven limestone member 114 

Gravel, old 130-131

Grayhorse limestone member... 116 

Grenola limestone..._ 121-122,160,163-164,167,168 

Gypsum_______-_ .. . 127

Hamlin shale member. .___ 118-119,158,159,162 

Harveyville shale member.. 111, 150,151 

HavensvUle shale member.. . 126-127,172,173,174 

Hawxby shale member____ 117,154,156,157,158 

Holmesville shale member. 175,176 

Hooser shale member_.. 124,169 

Houchen Creek limestone bed. 118,162 

Howe limestone member. __...... 121,160,161,164

Hughes Creek shale member.... 119,161-162,166

177
178 INDEX

Page 

Introduction______.......... ______ 98-99

Investigation, emphasis...__________ 105 

procedure....... __ __...___ 105

purpose......_ .._..___.____ 98-99

Janesville shale. . . _.. 117-119,158,159,162 

Jasper __ __..___.___ 120 

Jim Creek limestone member_____ 114,153,155 

Johnson shale........ ...... ._ 120,160,161,165

Kansan drainage changes.__________ 133 

Kansan glacier..... ....___.___ 130

Kansas drift plains...__.________ 99

Kansas River........ ................ 101,102,141

Kansas River Valley...___________ 134 

Kaw Lake.... 134,136,148

Kinney limestone member _..______ 127,172

Laboratory, Koad Materials._________ 105 

Legion shale member __________ 121,164,167 

Limestone gravel, defined... _______ 143 

Literature cited__ _____________ 147-148 

Loess . __. 137 

denned. . __.___ 99 

Long Creek limestone member_____ 120,161,166 

Lorton coal_.__..____________ 115 

Loveland silt member_____________ 136

Mclntire Creek.._._____________ 102 

Mammals, fossil remains..._________ 138 

Maple Hill limestone member___.___ 112,152 

Matfield shale.. __..... 127-128,172,175

Meyano Creek._.. ____________ 135 

Middleburg limestone member____ 124,169,171 

Mineral filler. ----------__..._-...__ 144

Morrill limestone member_____ 123,168,169,170 

Myers Valley____-_____________ 130

Nebraska City limestone member.... ___ 115,155

Nemaharange............_._______ 99,139

Neva limestone member______ 122,145,160,163

Oaks shale bed. ______ ________. 118 

Oketo shale member_ ___________ 128,174 

Onaga shale..- .- 116-117,154,156,157,158

Osagia.. ................................... 113

Ostracodes_..___............._____. 121

Peoria silt member..,.____._______ 136 

Petrified wood_____ ________ 118,132 

Photographs, aerial.-.- ---.-________ 105 

Physiography-..-.-.--____________ 99-101 

Pillsbury shale..... .. .- _ 113,152,153

Pleasant Run Creek..-..---.......____.. 130

Plumb shale member _____________ 115 

Pony Creek shale member_..._______ 116 

Precipitation, in Pottawatomie County.... 102,104

Quartz crystals.

Page 

...__..__.... 120, 1ZL, 12ft

Railways- .. . 10* 

Reading limestone member_ 111, 151 

Red Eagle limestone __.__ 120-121,160,161 

Red Vermfflion Creek. 102 

Riprap _ .... 112,144-145

Road metal _ __ 142-143

Roads 106,142

Roca shale 121,160,164,167

Rock Creek... __._.... 102,131,133,134

Root shale . _ 114-115,153,155 

Rulo limestone member 109,148

Salem Point shale member..... 121-122,160,163,167 

SaUyards limestone member 121,164,167 

Sanborn formation__ 136-137 

Sandstone, channel 111, 112,113,115,116,117 

Schroyer limestone member. _ 127,172,173,174 

Scranton shale _..... 109-110,148,149 

Sediments, Pleistocene and Recent_____ 130 

Silver Lake shale member.. 109-110,148 

Soldier Creek shale member.. 110,149,150 

Speiser shale - 172,173,174 

Spring Creek______.___....__.__ 102 

Stearns shale... 123,169,170 

Stine shale bed._ 118,162 

Stone, structural-..._ 145-147 

Stotler limestone-..- 113-114,152,154 

Stratigraphic sections. 148-176 

Structure, geologic. - . 139; pi. 5

Tarkio limestone member.__ . 112,145,152,153 

Temperature, in Pottawatomie County 102,103 

Terrace alluvium..__ 137-138 

Terraces __ _-_ 99,101,136-137 

Threemile limestone member___ 126,172,173,174 

Till .__ 131-132

defined 99

Till Plains 99

Towanda limestone member_..___ 129-130 

Towle shale member....... 117,154,155,156,157,159

Varves.-.-_ 133,135

Vermillion Creek _-_ 101,102,133,135

Wabaunsee group.-__ ..... 109-116 

Wakarusa limestone member_____ 110,149,150 

Wamego sand pump_. ...- _ 138 

Wamego shale member. _. _ 112,162 

West Branch shale member..., 117-118,156-157 

Willard shale . 111-112,152 

Wood Siding formation.. 115-116,154,155,156,157 

Wreford limestone. _ 126-127,172,173,174 

Wymore shale member. 127,172

Zeandale limestone. . .... 112,152,163
The U. S. Geological Survey has cataloged this publication as follows:

Scott, Glenn Robert, 1918-

Geology and construction-material resources of Pottawatomie County, Kansas, by Glenn E. Scott, Frank W. Foster, 

and Carl F. Crumpton. Washington, U. S. Govt. Print. Off., 

1958.

iv, 97-178 p. maps (1 col.) diagrs., tables. 25 cm. (U. S. Geological Survey. Bulletin 1060-C. Geology and construction materials 

of part of northeast Kansas)

Part of illustrative matter fold, in pocket.

"Prepared in cooperation with State Highway Commission of 

Kansas, as part of a program of the Department of the Interior for 

development of the Missouri River basin."

"Literature cited": p. 147-148.

(Continued on next card)

Scott, Glenn Robert, 1918- Geology and constructionmaterial resources of Pottawatomie County, Kansas ... 

1958. (Card 2)

1. Geology Kansas Pottawatomie Co. 2. Building materials. 3. 

Petrology Kansas Pottawatomie Co. (Series: U. S. Geological 

Survey. Bulletin 1080-C. Series: U. S. Geological Survey. Geology 

and construction materials of part of northeast Kansas)

557.8132