GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 79 

July 1950 

GEOLOGIC CONSTRUCTION-MATERIAL RESOURCES 

IN REPUBLIC COUNTY, KANSAS 

By 

Frank E. Byrne, Henry V. Beck, 

Vincent B. Coombs, and Wendell B. Johnson 

PREPARED IN COOPERATION WITH THE 

STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION OF KANSAS 

R. C. Keeling, State Highway Engineer 

S. E. Horner, Chief Geologist 

R. D. Finney, Engineer of Materials 

Prepared as Part of a Program 

of the Department of the Interior 

for Development of the Missouri River Basin 
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Oscar L. Chapman, Secretary 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

W. E. Wrather, Director 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 

Free on application to the Geological Survey, Washington 25, D. C. 
GEOLOGIC CONSTRUCTION-MATERIAL RESOURCES 

IN REPUBLIC COUNTY, KANSAS 

By 

Frank E. Byrne, Henry V. Beck, 

Vincent B. Coombs, and Wendell B. Johnson 

Introduction ..•........................... 

Purpose ot the investigation ............ . 

Area covered by the investigation .... · .. . 

Geography of the area ................ . 

Topography ....................... . 

Drainage ......................... . 

Climate .......................... . 

Railways ......................... . 

·Roads ............................ . 

Investigation procedure ............... . 

Acknowledgments .................... . 

Characteristics of the outcropping 

stratigraphic units ............... · ...... . 

General. ............................ . 

Dakota sandstone ..................... . 

Areal distribution ................. . 

General description ............... . 

Represen_tative measured section ... . 

Thickness ........................ . 

Construction materials ............ . 

Graneros shale ...................... . 

Areal distribution ............•..... 

General description ............... . 

Representative measured section ... . 

Thickness ...........•............. 

Construction materials ............ . 

Greenhorn limestone ......•........... 

Areal distribution ................. . 

General' description ............... . 

Representative measured sections .. . 

Thickness ........................ . 

Construction materials ............ . 

Carlile shale ........................ . 

Areal distribution ................. . 

General description ....•........ : .. 

Representative measured sections .. . 

Thickness ........................ . 

Construction materials ............ . 

Belleville formation ... • ............... . 

Areal distribution ................. . 

General description .......•... : . .. .. 

Representative measured section ... . 

Thickness ........................ . 

Construction materials •.......•.... 

Sanborn formation ................... : . 

Areal distribution ............•..... 

General description ................ . 

Representative measured section ... . 

Thickness .........•............... 

Construction materials ............. . 

Terrace deposits ..................... . 

Areal distribution ................. . 

General description .............•.... 

Representative measured section .... . 

Thickness ......................... . 

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CONTENTS 

Construction materials ............ . 

Dune sand .......................... . 

Areal distribution ................. . 

General description ............... . 

Representative measured section ... . 

Thickness ........................ . 

Construction material. ............ . 

Alluvium ............................ . 

Areal distribution ................. . 

General description ................ . 

Representative measured section .... . 

Thickness ........................ . 

Construction materials ............. . 

Inventory of construction materials ......... . 

-i-

-General. ............................ . 

Aggregate for concrete ................ . 

Engineering and geologic 

characteristics ................. . 

Stratigraphic sources and performance characteristics ............ . 

Dakota sandstone ............... . 

Belleville formation ............ . 

Sanborn formation .............. . 

Terrace deposits ............... . 

Dune sand ......•............... 

Alluvium ..... _ ................. . 

Road metal .......................... . 

Engineering and geologic 

characteristics .............•.... 

Aggregate for concrete .......... . 

Limestone gravel. .............. . 

Crushed rock .................. . 

Stratigraphic sources and performance characteristics ............ . 

Aggregate for concrete .......... . 

Limestone gravel. .............. . 

Crushed rock .................. . 

Dakota sandstone ............. . 

Greenhorn limestone .......... . 

Mineral filler ........................ . 

Engineering and geologic 

characteristics ................. . 

Stratigraphic sources and performance characteristics ............ . 

Sanborn formation ............. . 

Terrace deposits ............... . 

Volcanic ash ......................... . 

Engineering and geologic 

characteristics ................•. 

Stratigraphic sources and performance characteristics ............ . 

Riprap .............................. . 

Engineering and geologic 

characteristics ................. . 

Stratigraphic sources and performance characteristics ........ < . .. . 

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CONTENTS 

(Continued) 

Page Page 

Riprap--Continued. 

Dakota sandstone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

Greenhorn limestone. . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

Structural stone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

Engineering and geologic 

Stratigraphic sources and performance characteristics ............... 20 

Dakota sandstone ................ 20 

Greenhorn limestone ....•........ 20 

Plate 1. 

Figure 1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

characteristics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . 20 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

Map of Republic County, Kans., showing construction-material sources and geology ......... In pocket 

Index map of Kansas showing area covered by this report and by other constructionmaterials investigations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

Chart showing temperature ranges at Belleville, Kans ..................... :.............. 3 

Chart showing precipitation ranges at Belleville, Kans................................... 5 

Outcropping stratigraphic units in Republic County, Kans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

Geologic cross section along the line A-A'.............................................. 8 

TABLE 

Table 1. Summary of materials tests .................................................. Faces page 16 

-ii-
INTRODUCTION 

Purpose of the investigation 

The State Highway Commission of Kansas and 

the United States Geological Survey are cooperating 

in the compilation of a State-wide inventory of construction materials. A field party composed of 

personnel from the two cooperating agencies was 

sent into Republic County, Kans. , in the summer of 

1947 to investigate sources of engineering construction 

materials and to map their geologic occurrence. This 

report of the Republic County investigation is a part 

of the general inventory and a contribution to the 

geologic mapping and investigation of mineral resources being made in connection with studies of the 

Missouri Riv.er Basin. Y 

The primary objective of the investigation was 

to accumulate all field and laboratory data pertaining to the geologic materials in Republic County that 

would be of use in the construction of dams, irrigation 

canals, highways, railways, airports, or other 

engineering projects. Additional geologic data are 

included in this report, but only to the extent of providing information useful in the development of the 

prospects reported in the inventory or for the location of other materials required for future engineering needs. 

Area covered by the investigation 

Republic County is in the first tier of counties 

south of the Kansas-Nebraska border and in tl::te 

eighth tier east of Colorado. (See fig. 1. ) It comprises 20 townships and covers an area of about 720 

square miles. The county is bounded by parallels 

39°39' 15" and 40°00' north latitude and meridians 

97°22'15" and 97°54'45" west longitude. It is bounded 

on the east by Washington County, on the south by 

Cloud County, on the west by Jewell County, all in 

Kansas, and on the north by Nuckolls and Thayer 

Counties in Nebraska. 

Geography of the area 

Topography. --Republic County is near the eastern boundary of the Plains B.order division of the 

Great Plains physiographic province. 2/ The boundary 

between the Great Plains province and the Central 

Lowlands province is about 10 miles to the east in 

Washington County, Kans. The land surface in Republic O:>unty has been dissected to a rolling topography of moderate relief: Valleys cut into the 

unconsolidated sediments that cap the divides are 

rather shallow and have widely flaring walls, whereas 

v~lleys that have been cut through the ·unconsolidated 

sediments into the underlying consolidated ·rocks generally are 100 feet or more below the rolling upland 

surface and have steep walls. Outcrops of limestones 

of Cretaceous age (see fig. 4 ) form prominent rock 

terraces along these valleys, and in the southeastern 

part of Republic County the Dakota sandstone, also 

of Cretaceous age, forms a conspicuous series of 

rounded hillocks along the sides of the valleys. 

1Missouri River Basin, conservation, control, and use of water resources: 

78th Cong., 2d sess., S. doc. 191, 1944. 2Frye, J. C., The High Plains surface in Kansas: Kansas Acad. Sci. 

Trans., vol. 49, no. 1, fig. 1 and p. 76, 1946. 

-1-

The lowest altitude in the county, about 1, 320 

feet, is near the southeast corner where Elk Creek 

leaves the county. The points of highest altitude, 

about 1, 680 feet, are the crests of the divides in the 

north-central part of the county. 

The wide valley of the Republican River is the 

most conspicuous topographic feature in the western 

part of Republic County. The valley walls are moderately steep, and the floor of the valley, which is 

more than 2 miles wide in some places, is flat and is 

broken only by terrace remnants and occasional sand 

dunes. 

Drainage. --The Republican River, the principal 

stream in Republic County, rises in Colorado and 

flows generally toward the east until it reaches the 

northwest corner of Republic County, at which point 

it turns sharply and flows in a southerly direction to 

the south boundary of the county. (See pl. 1.) ~AThite 

Rock Creek in the northwestern part of the county and 

Salt and Elk Creeks in the southeastern part are its 

most important tributaries. Other tributaries to the 

Republican River in this county are less than 10 miles 

long. Mill Creek in the northeastern part of the 

county and Rose Creek in the north-central part ·are 

parts of the drainage system of the Little Blue River. 

Both Mill and Rose Creeks are much longer streams 

than any of the tributaries of the Republican River. 

A change in the course of the Republican River during 

glacial ( Pleistocene) time, will be described in the 

section on the. Belleville formation. 

There is a shallow basin a short distance southeast of Talmo in the south-central part of the county. 

As recently as the latter part of the nineteenth century, 

this basin was occupied by a salt marsh from which 

important supplies of salt were obtained by early 

settlers in the area. The history of the marsh, of 

which only a trace now remains, is described by 

Fishel and Lohman. ;' 

Climate. --Republic County is in an area of continental-type climate in which the summers are long 

and hot and the winters short and fairly cold. The 

average annual precipitation is about 26. 5 inches. 4/ 

The average date of the last killing frost in spring l.s 

April 27, and the average date of the first killing frost 

in fall is October 12. 5/ The average number of cloudy 

days is about 75 a year; of partly cloudy days, about 

90 a year; and 9f clear days, about 200 a year. §I 

Figure 2, a chart showing temperature ranges at 

Belleville, Kans. , was compiled from Climatological 

Data 7/ for the years 1937 to 1946, inclusive, to provide abasis for evaluating the temperature factor in 

terms of days in which construction may be carried on 

without detriment to the engineering structure. The 

chart indicates, for the 10-year period, the number 

3Fishel, v. C., and Lohman, S. W., Geology and ground water resources 

of Republic County and northern Cloud County, Kans.: Kansas 

Geol. Survey Bull. 73, pp. 16 and 17, 1948. 4 riora, s. D., The climate of Kansas, Kansas State Board Agr., Rept. 

vol. 67, no. 285, p. 84, 1948. 50p. cit., pp. 223 and 224. 

6op. cit., pp. 239 and 240. 7 u. S. Dept. Commerce, Weather Bur. Climatological Data (Kansas 

section). 
I 

~ 

--· 

CHEYENNE 

SHERMAN THOMAS 

WALLACE LOGAN GOVE 

HARVE'fKINGMAN 

.__,. ____ ~ 

SUMNER 

COMANCHE HARPER 

I I 

This Report in Report 

report preparation published 

Figure I. _Index map of Kansas showing areas covered by this report and by other 

construction- materials investigations. 
No. of days Jon. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 

[ill] EXPLANATION 

Days in which maximum temperature was more than goo F. 

rno ~~~"• ct:mll"ruct>lt:~nJ 

~ ~ in which maximum iemperutl.re was between. 6to-900!F. 

(lfo lnhlrtdfi,.,... ·wit-h t:lrfY ~ ~ e-Onstructton; 

~ Days in which maximum ~ture wos between 41°--60° F. 

(no ln.,. N.~ wll"h ~1'#1 ~hlltf;f"lt:H7,; 

no -bi'lumlnovs surlt:x#n"s lcri't:l) 

~Days in which maximum femperature was between 3~-400F. ft;t:mc:r.NI c:ons'lrUt:fiof'l rW/tH',..s prtUtiCf"/t:ln) I Days in Which -11\aximum temperature was less than 32 P F. 

(no co~ t:Dnsl'rucf"icn) 

Compiled from 

Climatological Data 

Kansas Section 

for years 1937 to 

1946, inclusiv._ 

Issued by 

Weather Bureau 

United States 

Department of CommerQe · 

Figure 2. _ Chart showing temperature ranges at Bel levi lie, Kansas. 

-3-
of days each month in which the maximum daily 

temperature .fell within certain designated ranges 

arbitrarily based on temperatures important in · 

various phases of engineering construction. A 

temperature of 32° F. is the minimum temperature 

for laying concrete without protection; and goo F. is 

the maximum temperature at which concrete may be 

poured without being subjected to undue evaporation 

loss. Bituminous construction should not be undertaken if the temperature drops below 60° F. 

Days in which the maximum temperature does 

not exceed 32° F. occur only from November to 

March, inclusive, with .the maximum incidence 

8. 6 days in January. July is the warmest month in 

the year, and on an average of 17. 8 days maximum 

temperature .6lxceeds goo F. moreover, as the chart 

shows, the' average difference between the daily 

maximum and minimum temperatures varies. Tlie 

greatest difference in daily temperatures 26. go F. 

is in October, and the least difference 20. 6°F. is 

in December. 

Inasmuch as precipitation also limits the number 

of working days in engineering construction, figure 3, 

a chart showing precipitation ranges at Belleville, 

Kans. , is presented to show the effect of this climatic 

factor~ The ranges in precipitation w~re selecte.d 

arbitrarily. Grading and concrete construction may 

be carried on, with perhaps only short interruptions 

in the work, if no more than an inch of rain falls; 

bituminous surfacings probably should not be laid if 

the rainfall has exceeded 0. 1 inch; and most construction work should cease if there has been more 

than 1 inch of rain. 

Based on a 10-year average, 8/ there are 5 days 

in June, for example, in which the precipitation 

ranges from 0. 11 to 1. 00 inch and 1. 8 days in which 

the precipitation is 1. 01 inches or more. Most of the 

precipitation amounting to 1. 01 inches or more falls 

as a heavy shower of short duration. Rain that 

amounts to 1. 00 inch or less generally is gentle and 

lasts over a longer period of time. 

Railways. --Republic County is traversed by four 

railways. One of the main lines of the Chicago, Rock 

Island & Pacific Railway enters the county at about 

the midpoint of the west boundary and extends eastward to Belleville. The main line then tn.rns toward 

the northeast and leaves the county near the'northeast corner. A branch line leading to Kansas City 

leaves Belleville in a southeasterly direction. Belleville, the county seat and principal city, Scandia, 

Courtland, Munden, Narka, Cuba, and Agenda are 

located along the Rock Island. A branch line of the 

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad·trends south 

and southeast through the southwestern part of Republic County. Courtland and Kackley are served 

by this railroad. A branch line of the Missouri 

Pacific Railroad parallels the Republican River in 

the western part of the county; Warwick~ Republic 

City, Scandia, and Norway are located along it. 

On~ branch line of the Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy 

8

U. S. Dept. Commerce, Weather Bur., Climatological Summary (Kansas 

section), 1937-46. 

-4-

Railroad enters from the south and extends generally 

northeastward through the southeastern part of Republic County, serving the cities of Wayne and Cuba, 

A second branch line of the same railroad approximately parallels the Kansas-Nebraska boundary line 

and makes two loops into the northern part of Republic 

County. Harbine and Warwick are located along this 

branch line. 

Roads. -,..u. S. Highway 36, a major transcontinental highway, crosses from east to west through the 

center of the county. Belleville, Scandia, and Courtland are on this highway, and the city of Cuba is less 

than a mile south of it. U. S. Highway 81, an important north-south highway, crosses the middle of 

the county and intersects U. S. Highway 36 at Belleville. No state highways enter Republic County. The 

area is well served, however, by a system of county 

and township roads that generally follow section lines. 

The two Federal highways are of a bituminous type of 

construction, whereas the county and township roads 

are constructed of macadam in which local materials 

have been used, are surfaced with loose road metal 

from sou.rces in or near the county, or are unsurfaced 

earth roads maintained by grading only. 

Investigation procedure 

This report is based on field work of the reconnaissance type. The base map was one compiled by 

the State Highway Planning Department (scale, 1 inch 

= 1 mile), to which drainage was added from largescale aerial photographs made available for that purpose by the Republic County office of the Soil Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture. The areal distribution of the stratigraphic 

units that crop out in Republic Col.inty was then mapped 

in the field. The mapped stratigraphic units are those 

recognized as of 1947 by the United States Geological 

Survey g; and the Kansas Geological Survey. 10/ 

Because the principal emphasis of the project is on 

construction materials, geologic problems not critically related to the presentation of information on 

construction materials are considered to be of secondary importance and are ignored insofar as the validity of the information presented is not aifected. 

An effort was made to accumulate all existing 

data pertaining to 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 not reported previously. The samples were subjected to 

routine laboratory tests in the Road Materials Laboratory of the State Highway Commission in Manhattan, 

Kans. A portion of each sample of aggregate material 

was analyzed under a binocular micros.cope in the 

laboratory of the Department of the Department of 

Geology, Kansas State College, and the constituent 

rock and mineral grains were determined. The 

laboratory tests and mineralogical analyses, together 

with the information from other sources, are presented 

i.n table 1, Summary of materi.als tests. 9WUmQrth, M. G., Lexicon of geoloqic names of the United States: U. S. 

10 Geol. Survey Bull. 896, pts. 1 md 2, 2336 pp. 1938. 

Moore, R. C., Frye, J. C., and Jewett, J. M., Tabular description of 

outcroppinq rocks in Kansas: Kansas Geol. Survey Bull. 52, pt. 

4, 212 pp. 1944. 
No. of days Jon. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 

30 a> 

N 

0 

CD ..,; 

10 r<i 

I'() 0 .q: 

rO <D 10 .. .t- .q: 

20 

t\.1 

a> ,.... &ri 

r<i t\.1 

v N t\.1 N t\.1 t\.1 t\.1 

10 C\1 C\1 

Average 

precipitation 0.86 0.97 .1.98 2.86 4.52 5.86 4.13 3.30 2.92 I. 90 1.26 0.94 

in inches 

I 

D 

EXPLANATION 

Days in which precipitation 

was more than I inch 

(no const-ruction DCI'I"vl"l'y.J 

Days in which precipitation 

was between 0.11 and I inch 

fnD bifllminous su-lf:Tcings .lo/d.) 

pqys in which precipitation 

was batween ~a trace and 0.1 inch 

mo lh~nrnc. whh CDnstruct"'Dn.) 

Days in which there was 

no precipitation 

('nD in~~ wlf"h cons'h-ucfion) 

Complled ·from 

Climatolooieal Data 

Kansas Stcti on 

for years 1937 to 

194 6, inclusive. 

Issued by 

Weather Bureau 

United States 

Deportment of Commerce 

Figure 3._ Chart showing orecipita'tion ravges at Belleville, Kansas. 

_r::-
Acknowledgments 

Appreciation is expressed to the following for 

their aid in contributing information found· useful in 

the compilation of the geologic map or the construction-materials d&ta included in this report: the State 

Highway Commission of Kansas at Topeka, S. E. 

Horner, chief geologist, and R. D. Finney, engineer 

of materials, and his associates; the Kansas office 

of the Ground Water Division, United States Geological Survey, V. C. Fishel, district engineer; the 

State Geological Survey of Kansas at Lawrence, 

J. C. Frye, executive director; the Republic County 

office of tlj.e Soil Conservation Service, .. ·United States 

Department of Agriculture; and the county engineer 

of Republic County. 

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE OUTCROPPING 

STRATIGRAPHIC UNITS 

General 

This discussion of the geologic formations 

cropping out in Republic County emphasizes the 

areal distribution, the general characteristics, 

and the thickness of each stratigraphic unit. One 

or more representative measured sections are 

given for each formation or member: The measured 

sections are not necessarily intended to be complete, 

out were selected to show typical outcrops of a unit 

in the county. 'The construction materials in each 

stratigraphic unit are listed. This part of the report 

presents the geological information required for. the 

location and effective development of the construction materials. 

A summary of the data for each unit is presented 

in figure 4, Outcropping stratigraphic units in Republic County, Kans. , and the relationships of these 

stratigraphic units are illustrated in figure 5, Geologic cross section along the line A-A'. 

The areal distribution of the local stratigraphic 

units is shown on plate 1, Map of Republic County, 

Kans., showing construction-material sources and 

geology. Each unit is indicated by an identifying 

symbol, and its outcrop areas are shown by a dis., 

tinctive pattern overprinted in color. Railroads, 

roads, and streams are shown on the map to provide 

a basis for evaluating the accessibility ~f sources of 

construction materials. For more convenient use 

in the field, plate 1 is printed in four parts, each of 

which covers about one-quarter of the county. An 

over lap of. 1 mile along the boundaries between 

quarters is provided, again as a convenience for 

field use when work is being done in the border area 

of one of the quarters of the map. 

The locations of pits and quarries also are shown 

on plate 1. The symbo 1s 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). Most of these sources are listed 

in table 1. Matertals represented on the· map by inclined letters have not been tested and are not listed 

in table 1. All materials sources listed. in table 1 

are numbered within each materials classification 

-6-

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 

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 se -

quence as are the sections of the township. 

Dakota sandstone 

Areal distribution. --The Dakota sandstone, of 

Upper Cretaceous age, is the oldest stratigraphic 

unit that crops out in Republic County. (See fig. 4 and 

pl. 1.) This formation underlies the entire county 

but crops out only in the southeastern part. The Dakota 

sandstone has been eroded to form rounded, hillocklike 

benches along the valley walls of Mill Creek in the 

east-central part of the county and Elk, Cool, and 

salt Creeks in the southeastern part. The formation 

is often concealed in these valleys by younger, uncon-

. solidated sediments: the Sanborn formation, terrace 

deposits, and alluvium, from which it is separated by 

intervening erosional breaks, or unconformities (see 

fig. 5). The Dakota sandstone is overlain without an 

intervening erosional break (conformably) by the 

Graneros shale, also of Upper Cretaceous age. 

General description. --The Dakota sandstone consists 

of massive layers of cross-bedded sandstone interbedded with thick clay shales. The layers of sandstone are light gray, tan gray, or brown and vary in 

thickness. The cross bedding characteristic of the 

sandstones indicates the stream -deposited origin of 

. the formation in contrast to the over lying, uniformly 

bedded marine formations of Upper Cretaceous age 

(see fig. 4). The constituent fine to coarse quartz 

grains are generally only loosely cemented by interstitial deposits of calcium carbonate or iron oxide, 

but locally the grains are much more firmly cemented 

by interstitial deposits of iron oxide and form a hard, 

dense ledge of ironstone. The .color of the sandstone 

indicates the approximate quantity of iron oxide cement 

present, the light-gray beds containing little or no 

iron oxide, the tan-gray beds containing only.small 

quantities of iron oxide, and the dark-brown ledges 

containing an abundance of this substance. 

An outcrop of the Dakota sandstone was noted 

about a half mile east of Agenda in the NEtNWt sec. 

15, T. 4 S., R. 1 W., in which the constituent sand 

grains have been very firmly cemented by the deposition of silica in the pore spaces, presumably by percolating subsurface water. The cementation is so 

complete that the rock is classified as a quartzite. 

This ledge of quartzitic sandstone appears to be about 

40 .feet below the top of the formation but is of local 

extent onLy. Swineford 11/ reports that many quartzzitelike ledges in the Dakota sandstone in several other 

parts of the State are calcite- or dolomite-cemented 

rather than silica-cemented as observed in this Republic County occurrenc.e. 

The silt and the clay shales interbedded with the 

sandstones have an aggregate thickness greater than 

that of the sandstone layers. The outcrops of the shales, 

11Swineford, Ada, Cemented sandstones of the Dakota and Kiowa formations in Kansas: Kansas Geol. Survey Bull. 70, pt. 4, pp. 

53-104. 1947. 
Section 

(/) 

(/) 

Q) ......... 

c-

~a> 

u Q) 

·- ...... ..c._, 

1-

0-60 

Stratigraphic units 

E (/) ~ .<E (/) '- :>. Q) 

(f) (f) 

Formations 

and 

members 

Alluvium 

Dune sand 

Generalized description 

Predominantly fight- brown silt with numerous 

sand lenses and some gravel lenses interbedded. 

Tan-gray, cross-bedded, wind-blown sand; 

characterized by hummocky topography, 

Construction 

materials 

Aggregate 

Road metal 

Aggregate 2~i~1JM:iii~W.i?J o50 

c 

i.~.:.:. ···-·~ .... -.--~.-.· ~-····_:·_-:.·:. • .. :·.~-~~-~~.~= 0-50 ~ !c·l-T-e_r_r-ac_e_d_e_p_o_s~its-+-D-a-~-~k-~~-~-~-=s-n-~-f-~a-ay-nd--~-n-t~-~-r-~-~:-t-i-~t-he_;_bce-cd-ad-se-i~-~-l--~-~-~-~-e-~-ae-t~-a-l ----; 

~-~ ~ buried soil zone present locally. Mineral filler ~~~~~~--~ E o~------------~~~--~~----~-------~----~~-------------~ 

IE!:;:~ o-1oo j J sanborn formation Pr~~~i~?.~~~~~r~h~~~~~~::;~j~~11 

~ .. "':.-.--.. ~ in vertical banks and may develop columnar structure. 

Cross-bedded, tan-gray sand and gravel 

120 Belleville formation composed principally of quartz, feld-

, spar, and igneous rock particles; occasional lenses of ""silt and clay. 

50 

Blue-gray, generally noncalcareous clay 

Blue Hill shale shale, often limonite-stained and· con- Q) member 

0 

~~-----------.., 

~ 

taining septarian concretions and selenite 

crystals. 

80 ~ Fairport chalky Beds of orange-brown and yellow-brown 

.._, shale member chalky shale interbedded with thin beds 

of soft, tan-gray, chalky limestones. ,____ ____ _ ~----= ~ f--:- Pfeifer shale 

~ c-: 20 OQ) ..!!! member {;r-~ -~-;::I;:-::::-~-:r:tllli5;l ~ 0

0 E Jetmore cha I k 

'1=---- . ..:.:: 0 0 

~~~~ 40 g ~ ~ H~r~:~r shale 

F;E==-c::E::r:::'s=-+----J ~ ~ ~ ond Lincoln r- u ~ r- limestone !=~~~~ 20 ::> \ members j 

~~~l 11 Gron~oo sho~ 

~~ 

&~! ~---~ 

150 Dakota sandstone 

·ran, orange-gray, and gray shales interbed-· 

ded with thin beds of orange-gray and 

gray chalky or crystalline limestones 

and very thin bentonite layers. 

Blue-black, noncalcareous clay shale with 

sandstone lenses in bas.al part. 

Lenses of tan to brown cross-bedded sandstone interbedded with lenses of gray, 

tan, brown, or red silt or clay shales. 

Aggregate 

Road metal 

MineraI fi II er 

Aggregate 

Road metal 

Structural stone 

Road metal 

Road metal 

Structural stone 

Riprap 

Figure 4. -Outcropping stratigraphic unitS in Republic Co~nty, Kans., and their construction materials. 

-7-
0 

0 

Q 

0 

0 

m 

0 

0 

CD 

West 

A. 

0 

Alluvium 

Terrace 

~ deposits 

G 

Sanborn formation 

Greenhorn 

~ limestone 

Graneros 

~ she le 

G 

Dakota sandstone 

Seal$ 

0 2 miles 

~E3~~E3~E&33C~F3=c======~====~=========E~3 

EXPLA.NATI ON 

B 

Visible unconformity 

L:::J 

~ 

Concealed unconformity 

F--fj 

Concealed conformable 

contact 

E8 

Visible conformable 

contact 

Silt 

[1~~f:f.J:~ Sand with 

grave I lenses 

m 

Limestone 

Shale 

Sandstone 

Figure 5._ Cross section along the line A-'A• from the southwest corner of sec. 6 

eastward to the southeast corner of sec. I, T. 4 S., R. I W. 

-8-

0 E 

8 ::I 

.... 

0 

'0 

"0 

Q) 

E 

::I 

f/) 

0 f/) 

0 0 

m Q) 

:> 

0 

..Q 

0 

.... 

Q) 

Q) 

0 .... 0 -~ 

a:> of 

'0 

::I 

.... 

:4= 

<i 
however, are not so conspicuous as those of the 

sandstones,. because the relatively-soft shales are 

eroded quite rapidly and the surfaces of their outcrops become masked by sandstone fragments weathered from overlying sandstone ledges. The shales 

are noncalcareous, blocky or' thin-bedded, and exhibit a variety of colors: light to dark gray, tan, 

brown, and red. Fracture planes in the shales are 

often stained with iron oxide. 

Local concentrations of carbonaceous material 

occur in the shales, and some lenses are sufficiently pure to be classified as lignitic coal. Wing 12/ 

states that a bed of coal about 2 feet thick and about 

12 feet below the top of the uppermost sandstone bed 

was mined near Minersville in the south-central part 

of Republic ~ounty and the north-central part of Cloud 

County. 

Concretions of iron oxide (limonite and hematite) 

are characteristic of some of the sandstone ledges, 

and the shales locally contain appreciable amounts of 

salt and gypsum. The removal of the salt by percolating ground water has resulted in salt marshes in the 

south-central part of Republic County. The salt and 

gypsum are not concentrated in the shales, but are 

disseminated throughout certain zones. Concretions 

of pyrite also occur in many of the shale layers. 

Representative measured section. --The following 

section of the Dakota sandstone was measured along 

the west valley wall of Salt Creek in the SEiNWt sec. 

7, T. 4 S. , R. 2 W. : 

Soil. ........•......•.................. 

Dakota sandstone: 

Sandstone, massive, soft; tan gray 

weathers tan; limonite-streaked ..... 

Shale, silty, noncalcareous; blocky; 

light blue gray; limonite-stained 

along fracture planes ............. . 

shale, silty, noncalcareous; very 

thin bedded; blue black, weathers 

lighi blue gray; interbedded thin 

lenses of iron-cemented sandstone ... 

Siltstone, massive, soft; light gray; 

limonite-stained .................. . 

Shale, silty, noncalcareous; blocky; 

blue gray; iron-stained on fracture· 

planes; thin carbonaceous zones and 

included small crystals of gypsum; 

thin sandstone lenses in basal 

part.~ ..........•.. · .....•.......•. 

Shale, silty, noncalcareous; blocky; 

light blue gray; limonite-stained 

throughout. ...................... . 

Base covered. 

Feet 

1.5 

9. 7 

1.0 

1.0 

1.5 

2. 4 

6. 0 

2T.6 

Thickness. --It is estimated that a total thickness of about 150 f~et of Dakota sandstone crops out 

in Republic County. Individual outcrops average 

about 20 feet in thickness, although exceptional ones 

may be as much as ffO feet thick. Outcrops of the 

Dakota sandstone are thickest near the southeast 

corner of the county. 12Wing, M. E., Geology of Cloud and Republic Counties, Kans.: Kcmsas 

Geol. Survey Bull. 15, p. 34, 1930. 

_g_ 

Construction materials. --The clay beds in the 

Dakota sandstone are used as a source of ceramic 

material, and Plummer and IDadik 13/ report that 

a ceramic slag suitable for use as aggregate can be 

manufactured from these clays. Materials from 

this formation have the following constructionmaterials uses: 

Road metal. 

Structural stone. 

Riprap. 

Graneros shale 

Areal distribution. --The Graneros shale of Upper 

Creta:Ceous age, crops out only in isolated places in 

Republic County. (See fig. 4 and pl. 1.) The formation occurs in the valley walls in the area in which 

the Dakota sandstone crops out but is gennerally masked 

by silt of the Sanborn formation and by colluvial material carried down onto it from the overlying Greenhorn limestone. The Graneros shale has been eroded 

from the stream courses in the southeastern part of 

the county but is present in the subsurface throughout the remainder .of Republic County. 

General description. --The Graneros shale is 

composed principally of blue-black, very thin 

bedded, noncalcareous clay shales. Lenses of sandstone are present in the basal part of the formation 

and are difficult to distinguish in some places from 

the sandstones of the underlying Dakota. Limonitic 

concretions are present in the shales, and crystals 

of a variety of gypsum (selenite) occur locally. The 

Graneros shale conformably overlies the Dakota sandstone (see fig. 5). This shale and the overlying formations of Upper Cretaceous age were deposited in 

marine waters. 

Representative measured section. --The following 

section of the Graneros shale and the upper part of 

the Dakota sandstone is exposed in a road cut in the 

NEiSWi sec. 7, T. 4 s., R. 2 w.: 

Feet 

Soil, silty, brown.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . --r.15"" 

Graneros shale: 

Shale, clayey, noncalcareous; light 

blue, weathers gray. . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . • . . 5 

Shale, clayey, noncalcareous; very 

thin bedded; black, weathers blue 

gray; limonite-stained. . . . . . • . . • . • . • . . 6. 5 

Shale, clayey, noncalcareous; very 

thin bedded; dark gray, weathers 

light gray; limonite-stained. . . . . . . . . . . 3. 5 

Total thickness of Graneros shale 

exposed. . . . . . • • . . • . . . . . . . • • . . . . . . • . . 10. 5 

Dakota sandstone ...•••••... , . . . . • . . . . . . 12. 0 

Thickness. --The total thickness of the Graneros 

shale in Republic County is about 20 feet; individual 

outcrops of the formation, however, are seldom more 

than 10 feet thick. 

13Plummer, N., and Hladik, W. B., The manufacture of ceramic railroad 

ballast and constructional aggregates from Kansas clays and silts: 

Kansas Geol. Survey Bull. 76, pt. 4, p. 95, 1948. 
Construction materials. --No use of material 

from this f9rmation was observed -in engineering 

structures in Republic County. The high clay 

content indicates that the shoulder slopes should be 

graded to a low angle if the'Graneros shale is used 

in fills or embankments. 

Greenhorn limestone 

Areal distribution. --The Greenhorn limestone, 

of Upper Cretaceous age (see fig. 4), forms prominent rock terraces along the valley walls of most 

of the streams in all but the northwest quarter of 

Republic County (see· pl. 1). It is coneealed in the 

divide areas by the younger, overlying Sanborn formation and has been eroded from the valley of Elk 

Creek in th~ vicinity of Agenda and from the valleys 

of Cool, East, and Salt Creeks near Talmo and Wayne. 

The Greenhorn limestone is divided into four members: the Lincoln limestone stratigraphicallythe 

oldest and lowest, the Hartland shale, the Jetmore 

chalk, and the Pfeifer shale stratigraphically the 

youngest and highest. However, the first two members, the Lincoln limestone and the Hartland shale, 

are not differentiated in this county. The Greenhorn 

is mapped as a single stratigraphic unit on plate 1, 

although discussions of the several members will be. 

given to aid in field recognition. 

General description. --The Greenhorn limestone 

conformably overlies the Graneros shale and is overlain in similar fashion by the Carlile shale. (See 

fig. 4. ) It is separated by unconformities from still 

younger stratigraphic units, the Belleville and Sanborn 

formations and terrace deposits, that overlie it 

locally. 

The sequence of undifferentiated Lincoln limestone 

and Hartland shale members consists of beds of shale 

interbedded with thin layers of limestone and seams 

of bentonite. The shales are thin-bedded, buff-colored 

in the basal part and gray blue in the upper part, and 

are calcareous in contrast to the underlying Graneros 

shale, which is noncalcareous. The shales generally 

are clayed but may be silty in some zones. 

The thin beds of limestone, which are more 

numerous in the lower part of the sequence, usually 

are crystalline, hard, and rather massive, although 

in the upper part of this unit they tend to be chalky. 

They are tan gray to dark gray and weather buff.or 

light gray. Invertebrate fossils are not so common 

in these limestone beds as they are in the limestones 

of the overlying Jetmore chalk and Pfeifer shale members. Fossilized shark teeth are lpcally abundant in 

the Lincoln and Hartland sequence and fossil vertebrae 

of bony fish have been collected frofu. it. 

Numerous persistent beds of bentonite occur in 

the Lincoln and Hartland sequence. The bentonites 

vary from 0. 01 to 0. 5 foot in thickness, and the 

thickest bed is that which is found about 5 feet below 

the base of the Jetmore chalk member. The unweathered bentonite is white to light gray and is 

often stained with limonite; it weathers a characteristic orange gray. The swelling phenomenon often 

associated with bentonite is only poorly c}eveloped in 

the bentonites of this unit. 

-10-

The Lincoln and Hartland sequence erodes to 

rather steep sided banks from which some of the crystalline limestones project as narrow, though conspicuous, ledges formed, not by a single bed, but usually 

by two crystalline limestones that are close together. 

The limestones that form the most conspicuous of 

these ledges occur in the upper part of the Lincoln 

limestone member. 

The Jehnore chalk member consists of fairly thick 

layers of tan-gray· and blue-gray chalky shales interbedded with thinner layers of gray or cream-colored 

chalky limestones. Both the shales and limestones 

contain numerous fossil shells of a clam (Inoceramus). 

The top of the Jetmore chalk member is arbitrarily defined as the top of the "shell rock," a bed of 

chalky limestone in which there are abundant fossil 

clam shells. The shell-rock bed is about a foot 

thick and forms conspicuous, rounded rock terraces 

high on the walls of many of the valleys in the county. 

The unweathered shell rock is quite soft, but when 

weathered it case-hardens markedly. 

The youngest member of the Greenhorn limestone, 

the Pfeifer shale, consists of fairly thick beds of 

tan-gray shales interbedded with thinner beds of 

orange-gray chalky limestones that tend to be concretionary. Fossilized clam shells are fairly numerous in both the shales and limestones. The top of 

the Pfeifer shale member is arbitrarily defined as the 

top of the "Fencepost" limestone bed. The "Fencepost:' 

limestone is about a foot thick and is easily recognized 

by a characteristic rust-brown band in its middle part. 

This bed forms an angular rock terrace throughout the 

area of its occurrence. 

The "Fencepost" limestone and the upper part of 

the Pfeifer shale have been eroded from much of the 

eastern and southeastern parts of the county but are 

present in the remainder of the mapped outcrop areas 

of the Greenhorn limestone. The occurrence of the 

"Fencepost" limestone is indicated by the angular rock 

terrace about 20 feet above the rounded terrace formed 

by the shell-rock bed at the top of the Jetmore chalk 

and by the presence of small,crescent-shaped, abandoned quarries on the shoulders of the valley walls. 

The "Fencepost" bed is always present along the 

mapped line of contact between the Greenhorn limestone 

and the overlying Carlile shale. (See pl. 1.) 

The shales in the Pfeifer shale member are chalky, 

fossiliferous, tan gray to orange gray, and thin-bedded 

or platy. Several thin seams of bentonite are interbedded with the shales. These are white or light gray 

when unweathered but weather a characteristic orange 

gray. Occasional thin layers of gray crystalline limestone occur in the basal part of the member . 

. Representative measured section. --An excellent 

section of all but the basal part of the Greenhorn limestone was measured by Denzil Bergman, of the United 

States Geological Survey, in a road cut along U. S. 

Highway 36 in the swtswt sec. 4, T. 3 s., R. 1 w., as follows: -

Feet 

Sanborn formation: Brown silt. . . . . . . . . . . "20. Ot 

Greenhorn limestone: 

Pfeifer shale member: 
Pfeifer shale member. --Continued. 

11Fencepost 11 limestone bed, chalky; 

massive; tan gray with rust-brown 

streak in middle part"; upper part 

badly weathered; fossil clam 

Feet 

shells........................... 1. 0 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; light 

gray.............................. . 1 

Limestone, chalky; platy; tan gray, 

weathers light· gray. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

Shale, clayey, calcareous; platy; 

, gray orange. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

Bentonite; gray, weathers light gray... . 05 

Shale, clayey, calcareous; platy; 

gray orange. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

Shale, somewhat silty, calcareous; 

platy; tan gray, weathers light 

gray .......... -................... . 4 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; tan 

gray, weathers light gray; fossil 

clam shells. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; tan 

gray, weathers light gray; fossil 

clam shells, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0. 2 

Limestone; massive; light gray; 

limonite-stained; fossil clam 

~hells ...................... •....... . 1 

Shate, silty, calcareous; blocky; al-

. ternating zones of gray orange and 

light gray; fossil clam shells. . . . . . . . 1. 3 

Limestone, crystalline; massive; red 

brown and tan gray, weathers light 

gray.............................. . 2 

Shale, silty, calcareous; blocky; gray 

orange and light gray; fossil clam 

shells............................. 1. 7 

Bentonite, white...................... . 1 

Limestone; massive;• gray orange, 

weathers tan gray; fossil clam 

shells............................. . 5 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; gray 

orange, weathers light gray; fossil 

clam shells. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

Bentonite; light gray, with limonite 

stains............................. . 05 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; 

gray orange, weathers light gray; 

abundant fossil clam shells. . . . . . . . . . 0. 7 

Limestone; massive; tan gray, weath- · 

ers light gray; limonite-stained on 

fracture planes; abundant fossil 

clam shells. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; tan 

gray, weathers light gray; limonite 

stains on fracture planes; fossil 

clam shells. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . 5 

Limestone, crystalline; massive; red 

brown and tan gray, weathers light 

gray.............................. . 05 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; gray 

orange, weathers light gray; fossil 

clam shells ...................... 0 • • e 

Limestone, crystalline; massive; red 

brown and tan gray, weathers light 

gray ..................... ."........ . 2 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; gray 

orange, weathers light gray; abundant fossil clam shells. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

-11=-

Limestone, crystalline; massive; red 

brown and tan gray; weathers light 

gray ................................... . 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; gray 

orange, weathers light gray; abundant fossil clam shells ................... . 

Limestone, crystalline, interbedded 

with shale, silty, calcareous; limestones red brown and tan gray, 

weather light gray; shales gra.y 

orange, weather light gray; abundant fossii cla:m shells ................... . 

Bentonite, gray ........................... . 

Limestones, crystalline; red brown and 

tan gray; interbedded with shales, 

silty, calcareous, platy, gray 

orange, weathering light gray; abundant fossil clam shells .................. . 

Jetmore chalk member: 

Shell-rock limestone bed, chalky, massive; case-hardens upon weathering; 

tan gray, weathers tan; abundant fossil 

clam shells ......•....................... 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; 

gray orange; abundant fossil 

clam shells ............................. . 

Limestone, chalky, crystalline in 

middle part; massive; tan gray, 

weathers light gray .....................•. 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy, gray 

orange, weathers light gray; fossil 

clam shells ............................. . ·Limestone, chalky, crystalline in 

middle part; massive; gray orange, 

weathers light gray; abundant fossil 

clam shells ........................ ~ .... . 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; gray 

oranqe, weathers light qray; abundant fossil clam shells ................... . 

Limestone, chalky, with interbedded crystalline layer; massive; tan gray, 

weathers light w-ay; abundant fossil 

clam shells ............................. . 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; gray 

orange, weathers light gray; abundant fossil clam shells ...•................ 

Limestone; massive; tan gray, weathers light gray; abundant fossil 

clam shells ............................. . 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; gray 

orange, weathers tan gray; abundant 

fossil clam shells ........................ . 

Limestone, chalky,. with thin crystalline zones; massive; gray orange; 

Feet 

0.2 

• 5 

2.9 

. 5 

6.4 

1.3 

1. 15 

. 2 

.4 

. 15 

. 6 

• 4 

• 4 

0. 1 

. 4 

abundant fossil clam shells. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; light 

gray and gray' orange; abundant fossil clam shells. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

Limestone, chalky, with thin crystalline zones; massive; gray orange; 

abundant fossil clam shells ... 0 0 ••••••• 0 • • • • • 4 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; gray 

orange and light gray; abundant 

fossil clam shells ........................ . 

Limestone, chalky, somewhat crystalline; 

massive; tan gray; small ironstone 

concretions; abundant fossil clam shells ..... 

.B 

. 2 
Jetmore chalk member. --Continued. 

Feet 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; gray 

orange and light gray; abundant 

fossil clam shells ..... ·. . . . • . . . . . • . 7 

Limestone; massive; gray orange, 

weathers tan gray; occasional 

fossil clam shells. . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . 0. 2 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; gray 

orange at top, grading into gray blue 

at base; fossil clam shells. . . . . . . • . . 6 

Undifferentiated Hartland shale and · 

Lincoln limestone mP-mbers: 

Limestone; mass"ive; light gray to 

gray orange, weathers light gray; 

fossil clam shells. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 2 

Shale, sil~y, calcareous; blocky; blue 

black', weathers gray blue; fossil 

clam shells. . . . . .. • • . • . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. 5 

Limestone; massive; gray, weathers 

tan.............................. .4 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; dark 

gray, weathers blue gray; occasional 

fossil clam shells ... ,............. . 7 

Limestone; massive; gray, weathers 

tan.............................. . 15 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; dark 

gray, weathers blue. gray; some'fossil clam shells. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

Limestone, massive; dark gray, weathers light gray. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . 0. 2 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; blue 

gray; some fossil clam shells .... , . . 6 

Limestone; massive; dark gray, weathers light gray..................... . 2 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; blue 

gray; occasional fossil clam 

shells............................ . 5 

Limestone; massive; dark gray, weathers light gray ......... , . . . • . . • . . . . . 15 

Shale, silty, calcareous; platy; dark 

blue, weathers light blue gray; oc-

·casional fossil clam shells. . . . . . . . . . 6 

Limestone; blocky; gray, weathers 

light gray; occasional fossil clam 

shells............................ . 3 

Bentonite; light gray" with limonite 

streaks ............ ; ........... ·... . 1 

Shale, silty, calcareous; very thin 

bedded; dark blue black, weathers 

light blue gray; occasional fossil 

clam shells. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ 

Total thickness of Greenhorn limestone exposed .... '. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38. 6 

Base covered. 

Thickness. --The total thickness of the Greenhorn limestone is estimated to be about 7"5 feet. 

The thickness of the Lincoln and ·Hartland sequence 

is about 40 feet, the Jetmore chalk meinber is about 

15 feet thick, and the Pfeifer shale member is ·about 

20 feet thick. Individual outcrops of the formation 

range from several feet to about 40 feet in thickness. 

At no one place in the county is the total thickness of 

the Greenhorn limestone exposed; the representative 

measured section given previously is the most com- plete exposure of the formation. 

-12-

Construction materials. --

Structural stone. 

Road metal. 

Carlile shale 

Areal distribution. --The Carlile shale, of Upper 

Cretaceous age {see fig. 4), is the youngest deposit 

of marine origin in Republic County. It consists of 

three members: the Fairport chalky shale {the ~ 

oldest), the Blue Hill shale, and the Codell sandstone 

{the youngest). The Fairport chalky shale and the 

Blue Hill shale members crop out in Republic County 

and are mapped on plate 1 as a single stratigraphic 

unit, the Carlile shale, because neither of them is 

especially important as a source of engineering construction material. General descriptions and representative measured sections of the two members will 

be given as aids to field recognition. The Codell sandstone member occurs a short distance to the west in 

Jewell County but was not identified in Republic County. 

Outcrops of the Carlile shale are not numerous 

in Republic County; the most extensive outcrops occur 

along the west border of the county, and small, isolated outcrops are present in the vicinity of Belleville. 

Two small areas of outcrop are mapped on plate 1 in 

the southwestern part of the county. The formation 

underlies many of the divides of the county but is concealed beneath the overlying Sanborn formation. ,At 

one time the Carlile shale covered the entire area of 

the county, but subsequently it has been eroded from 

all but the divide areas. 

General description. --The Fairport chalky shale, 

the oldest member of the Carlile shale, lithologically 

resembles the underlying Pfeifer shale member of the 

Greenhorn limestone, with which it is in conformable 

contact. Its separation from the Greenhorn limestone 

is arbitrarily based on the "Fencepost" limestone bed 

at the top of the older formation. The Fairport chalky 

shale member consists of beds of orange-brown and 

yellow-brown chalky shale interbedded with thin beds 

of soft, tan-gray chalky lim.estones that are most 

numerous in the basal part of the member. 

The Blue Hill shale member, of the Carlile shale 

occurs locally only along the ·west border of Republic 

County. It is a blue-gray, generally noncalcareous 

clay shale. Some zones in this member are heavily 

limonite-stained and are rust-colored. Crystals of a 

variety of gypsum (selenite) are quite common in the 

Blue Hill shale, as are septarian concretions often as 

much as 2 feet in diameter. 

The Cretaceous formations that crop out in Republic county dip from 12 to 15 feet per mile toward 

the northwest. The estimate of dip is based upon 

altitudes of the contact between the Carlile shale and 

the underlying Greenhorn limestone. Minor variations 

in the regional dip were not studied by the field party. 

Representative measured sections. --Two measured 

sections of the Carlile shale are cited by Wing 14/ and 

14Wing, M. E., Geology of Cloud and Republic Counties, Kans.: Kansas 

Geol. Survey Bull. 15, pp. 22 and 23. 1930. 
are adapted here. The first of these is a section 

of the basal part of the Fairport chalky shale 

member, and the second is a section of the lower 

part of the Blue Hill shale member. 

{1) Section of the lower part of the Carlile shale 

near the southeast corner of sec. 20, T. 2 S., R. 

2 w. : 

Carlile shale: 

Limestone, reddish buff at top •.. 

Shale, blue-gray; calcareous. 

Contains numerous Ostrea 

Ft. 

shells •......•...•. -=-:-:-:-:-: . . . . 5 

Limestone, dark-buff. Varies 

greatly in thickness. Splits 

into thin layers •..•.•••.•..... 

Shale, light-gray-; calcareous.... 6 

Limestone. Splits into three 

distinct layers. Two upper 

layers separated by an 

ocher-red se~m of clay along 

which limestone is reddish 

buff in color. Middle layer 

more compact than other two 

and slightly banded. Lowermost layer chalky.; weathers rapidly ...••..•..•..••.... 

Shale, gray; calcareous •...••.... 2 

Limestone, gray. Intermediate 

quarter-inch cross-laminated •. 

Shale, gray; calcareous......... 2 

Limestone. Lower part light 

buff; upper part reddish 

buff ..•...•...........•.•.•.• 

Shale, calcareous .•..........•. 

Greenhorn limestone (Pfeifer shale, 

member): "Fencepost" limestone ••. 

(2) Section of the middle part of the 

Carlile shale exposed. in the swt sec. 

2, T. 2 S. , R. 5 W. : 

Clay, sand, and gravel belonging 

to the Tertiary •....•••••..•.. 

Shale, blue-gray. Contains 

lemon-yellow flakes and fragments of large-shelled InoFt. 

10-12 

ceramus ..........•......... 23 

Bentonite, thin, white ......... . 

Shale, blue-gray. Contains 

numerous fragments of largeshelled Inoceramus. . . . . . . • . . 10 

Clay, brown. Contains thin 

flakes and small crystals of 

gypsum. Has bentonitic seat? 

at center ............... ; ... . 

Shale, blue ................... . 

Gray limestone bed. Contains 

many small shells of Inoceramus. At top is zone containing 

small brownish concretions 

1 to 4·inches in diameter ..... . 

Shale, blue ................... . 

Clay, similar to bed 10 ........ . 

5 

in. 

5 

3-7 

10 

1 

6 

3t-4 

2 

9 

in. 

2 

4 

5 

3 

-13-

Shale, blue, papery. Contains 

numerous fragments oflarge 

Inoceramus shells and ~a.. 2 

Clay, similar to bed 10 ........•...... 

Shale, blue ........•................. 

Clay, brownish ......•...........•..• 

Shale, blue, papery. Contains 

Ft. 

4 

numerous Ostrea shells ........... . 12 

in: 

2 

1 

Thickness. --The aggregate thickness of the Carlile 

shale in Republic County is estima~ed to_ be about 230 

feet. The full thickness of the Fairport chalky shale 

member about 80 feet, is present in the county, but 

only the iower 150 feet of the Blue Hill shale member 

occurs here. Conspicuous exposures of the upper 

part of the Blue Hill shale are present. beneath the . 

Fort Hays limestone member of the Nwbrara formatlon 

only a short distance west of the county line in Jewell 

County. 

Individual outcrops of the Carlile shale usually are 

rather thin; the two measured sections are the thickest 

outcrops found in Republic County. 

Construction materials. --No materials or" especial 

significance in engineering construction occur in the 

Carlile shale as it is developed in Republic County. 

If material from this source is used in the construction of fills or embankments, the high content of clay 

in the shale is an important factor in determining the 

angle to which the shoulder slopes should be gra?ed. 

Plummer and IDadik 15/ suggest that the Blue Hill 

shale member of the Carlile shale is a promising 

source of material for the manufacture of ceramic 

slag useful as a light-weight aggregate. · 

Belleville formation 

Areal distribution. --The Belleville formation of 

Ple1stocene age crops out only in the northern part 

of Republic County, principally in the area northwest 

of Belleville. (See fig. 4 and pl.. 1.) The outcrops 

are limited in areal extent and are isolated from each 

other. The full extent of the Belleville formation can 

be determined only by test drilling, because so much 

of it is concealed by the overlying Sanborn formation. 

The boundaries of the formation are given by Wing. 16/ 

General description. --The Belleville formation 

was named by Wi.ng 17/ from exposures in the vicinity 

of :Belleville, Republic County, Kans. As originally 

described the age of the formation was considered to 

be Tertia;y but subsequent work by Fishel and Lohman 

18/ and by o'thers indicates quite conclusively that its 

age is early Pleistocene. Apparently the Bellevi_lle 

formation was deposited as a result of the dammmg of 

the Republican River by a glacier of early Pleistocene 

age. 

1

5plurnmer, N., and Hladik, W. B., The manufacture of ceramic railroad 

ballast and constructional aggregates from Kansas clays and silts: 

Kansas Geo!. Survey Bull. 76, pl 4, p. 86, 1948. 16Wing, M. E., Geology of Cloud and Republic Counties, Kans.: 

Kansas Geol. Survey Bull. 15, pl. 2, 1930. 170p. cit., pp. 19-21. 18Fishel, V. C., and Lohman, S. W., geology and ground water resources 

of Republic County and northern Cloud County, Kans.: Kansao:; 

Geol. Survey Bull. 73, pp. 89-92, 1948. 
The gravel, sand, silt, and clay that compose 

this formation accumulated on the floor of a lake. 

Probably the bUlk of the sediments, having been 

eroded from the ~ea to the west, was deposited in 

the lake by the Republican River, but some of the 

pebbles of quartzite in the Belleville formation 

indicate that glacial outwash was an additional 

source of sediments. 

Lohman 19/ believes that the preglacial Republican 

River flowednortheastward through the northwestern 

part of Republic County; that its course through easterri 

Nebraska was dammed by an early Pleistocene glacier i 

(the preglacial channel in Nebraska has been traced 

by test drilling); and 'that the river excavated a new 

_channel leading southwaPd and southeastward to the 

site of Junctio~ .. City, Kans. , where it merges with 

the Smoky Hil1 River to form the Kansas River. Most 

of the Valley of the Republican River in Republic 1 

County, therefore, was eroded in the early Pleistocene! 

epoch, and the river has continued since then to follow 

its glacially diverted course. 

The Belleville formation consist predominantly of 

cross-bedded lenses of sand composed of quartz and 

gravel-size fragments of igneous rocks. Subordinate 

amounts of quartzite and chert particles are present 

also. Occasional lenses ofclay, silt, lHld very fine 

sand are interbedded with the rest of the material, and ' 

clay balls 4 to 15 inches in diameter are present in the 

formation. The color usually is tan gray, but locally 

it may rust brown because of staining by iron oxide. 

In some places the Belleville formation appears 

to grade upward into the overlying Sanborn formation. 

The contact between the two formations, therefore, is 

often hard to determine. As an arbitrary basis for field 

mapping, the deposits in which sand is the predominant 

materw are mapped .a.s--Bel}evi.lle and those in which 

silt is the predominate material are mapped as Sanborn. 

The Belleville formation usually erodes to form a 1 

rather hummocky type of topography in contrast with 

the generally rolling topography developed by erosion 

of the Sanborn formation. 

Representative measured section. --The following 

section of the Belleville formation was measured in 

the wall Qf a small valley in the SEtNEt sec. 13, T. 

1 S., R. 5 W.: 

Feet 

Soil: Silt, gray.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1':() 

Sanborn formation: 

Silt, noncalcareous; datk brown, 

weathers dark gray; organic matter 

present. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. 3 

Silt, calcareous; exhibits columnar 

structure and stands in vertical bank; 

gray................................. 8. 4 

Belleville formation: 

Sand, silty, brown..................... 2. 7 

Sand, fine, gray....................... 1. 2 

Sa:nd, brown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. 2 

Sand, clayey, dark-brown ................ 1.0 

19 Sand, light-brown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. 0 

Op. cit., pp. 29-32. 

-14-

Sand and gravel; particles range from 

fine sand to gravel an inch or more 

in diameter; gray and brown; occasional interbedded lenses of silt. ..... . 

Total thickness of Belleville formation exposed ........................ . 

Base covered. 

Feet 

15.0 

24. 1 

Thickness. --The thickness of the Belleville formation ranges from a featheredge along the south 

margin of its occurrence to a. maximum.estimated by 

Fishel and Lohman 20/ to be between 30 and 40 feet 

along the north boundary of the county. Their deterruination of the thickness of the formation is based on 

test drilling in the area. A test hole drilled near 

Chester, Nebr. , penetrated a thickness of 120 feet of 

this formation. 

Construction materials.--

Aggregate for concrete. 

Road metal. 

Sanborn formation 

Areal distribution. --The Sanborn formation, of 

Pleist'O'Cerle and Recent (?) age, is the most widely 

tUstributed stratigraphic unit that crops out in Republic County. (See fig. 4 and pl. 1.) At one time 

the formation undoubtedly extended over most of the 

area of the county, but subsequently it has been removed along the courses of many of the streams. The 

formation occurs in two phases; the more extensive 

phase is that which caps the tops of the divides as a 

blanket of silt of variable thickness, and a less extensive phase occurs along the walls of some of the 

larger stream valleys in the county, such as those of 

Salt and Mill Creeks. The lithologies of the two phases 

are similar, and both phases are mapped as a single 

stratigraphic unit on plate 1. Frye and Fent 21/ have 

subdivided the formation into members, but it was 

not feasible to attempt the mapping of these members 

in the reconnaissance-type field work on which this 

report is based, as to do so would have required a 

greatly expanded field program, -including test drilling. 

The treatment of the Sanborn as an undivided unit seems 

adequate to serve the purpose of a construction-materials 

inventory. 

General description. --The Sanborn formation consists predominantly of gray-brown and red-brown silt, 

but there may be local lenses of sand aqd limestone 

gravel present in its basal part. The particles composing the sand and gravel lenses are derived from 

older stratigraphic units cropping out in the area. 

In the southeast corner of the county, where the 

formation overlies the Dakota sandstone, its color is 

dark brown and reflects the influence of the Dakota 

sandstone. The contact between the Sanborn formation 

and the underlying Dakota sandstone is often hard to 

define because of this similarity in color. 

200p. cit., p. 91. 21Frye, J, C., and Fent, 0. S., Late Pleistocene loesses of central 

Kansas: Kansas Geol. Survey Bull. 70t pt. 3, pp. 41-51, 1947. 
There is a prominent soil profile at the top of 

the formation, and Hibbard, Frye~ and Leonard 

22/ have reported a buried soil :zone in the formation. 

Such a buried .soil zone was noted in several localities in·Republic County by" the authors of this report. 

Deposits of gravelly sand were observed in the 

basal part of the Sanborn formation near the head 

of Mill Creek in the northeastern part of the county. 

The sand and gravel particles in all likelihood were 

derived by erosion of the Belleville formation a 

short distance toward the west. Deposits· of limestone gravel occur in numerous localities along the 

western border of Republic County. The limestone 

particles appear to have been derived from the 

Niobrara formation, which crops out in Jewell 

County. The deposits of limestone gravel are 

lenticul!¢ and, in all cases, are found in the basal 

part of the Sanborn where the formation rests uncon-

"formably on the Carlile shale. 

The field party noted a single deposit of impure 

volcanic ash in the basal part of the Sanborn formation in the SEtSEt sec. 35, T. 1 S., R. 4 W. 

The deposit consists principally of silt 'with only a 

small amount of intermixed volcanic ash. It is 

probable that this occurrence correlates with the 

Pearlette ash described by Frye and. Fent. 23/ 

Although fossil shells of snails (gastropods) 

were found in the Sanborn formation in other counties, 

none was discovered by the field party in Republic 

County. 

_ The silt of the Sanborn formation exhibits a wellmarked tendency to stand in vertical banks and often 

shows a crude type of columnar structure. The formation generally erodes to form a gently rolling surface, 

but the headward portions of stream valleys cut into 

the Sanborn develop the phenomenon known as "catstep 

erosion. " The catsteps are slump blocks from several 

feet to about 20 feet ·wide defined by scarps a foot or 

two ·high. Apparently they are the result of the sliding of water-saturated silt down toward the streams 

under the influence of gravity as material is removed 

from the toe of the deposit by stream erosion. 

Representative measured section. --The Sanborn 

formation is shown in a road cut in the SEtSEt sec. 

28, T. 3 S. , R. 4 W. , as follows: 

Feet 

Soil: Silt, dark-brown ...............• lJ."5' 

Sanborn formation: 

Silt, light-tan .... .'. . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . 4. 0 

Silt; shows columnar structure; nodules of secondary calcium carbonate 

present; brown, weathers gray· 

orange ......................... ·... 9. 2 

29.5 

Base covered. 

Thickness. --The Sanborn formation varies in 

thickness from a featheredge to a maximum estimated to be about 100 feet. Individual outcrops 

usually range from several feet to about 15 feet in 

22Hibbard, C. W., Frye, J. C., and Leonard, A. B., Reconnaissance of 

Pleistocene deposits in north-central Kansas: Kansas Geol. Survey 

23 Bull. 52, pt. I, p. 13, 1944. 

Op. cit., p. 49. 

-15-

thickness. The formation is thickest in a northtrending ridge, the axis of which lies a short distance 

east of Scandia, and generally becomes thinner from 

the north border of the county tow~d the south. 

Construction materials. --

Aggregate for concrete. 

Road metal. 

Mineral filler. 

Terrace deposits 

Areal distributi.on. --Terrace deposits of Recent 

age 8:reeonspicuously developed in the valleys of the 

Republican River and Salt Creek. (See fig. 4 and pl. 

1. ) Narrow extensions of the terraces project into the 

valleys of the larger tributaries of these streams, as 

well as into the valleys of other streams in the county. 

Terrace deposits in the smaller stream valleys are 

continuous, but those in the valley of the Republican 

River are discontinuous, although each segment may 

cover an area of several square miles or more. Two 

or more terrace levels are present but are mapped as 

a single stratigraphic unit on plate 1 because their 

lithologic characteristics are similar. 

General description. --The terrace deposits unconformably overlie older formations and are composed 

of materials laid down by present-day streams in 

earlier gradational cycles. The deposits consist 

predominantly of silt, but there may be occasional 

lenses of crossbedded sand and gravel present, as in 

the deposit exposed in a cut bank in the NWtNWt sec. 

24, T. 1 S., R. 5 W. Undoubtedly similar lenses 

occur in terrace deposits in other places but are concealed by silt of the upper part of the formation. The 

silt usually is dark brown but may be gray or tan .. 

A buried soil zone was found in numerous localities 

at a depth varying from 3 to 6 feet below the top of the 

terrace. The B zone of the soil profile usually is 

lighter in color than the other zones because of the 

calcium carbonate disseminated through it. The B zone 

also contains nodules of calcium· carbonate. 

The silty phase of the terrace deposits tends to 

develop a crude columnar structure and to stand in vertical banks.- Streams reworked most of the sediments 

composing the terrace deposits from older, locally 

outcropping formations. 

Representp.tive measured section. --Terrace deposits 

are so uniformly silty, except for occasional sand and 

gravel lenses in the basal part, that it was not thought 

necessary to measure a section of the formation. 

Thickness. --The thickness of this formation-could 

have been determined accurately only by test drilling. 

It is estimated that the terrace deposits in the valley 

of the Republican River may be as much as 50 feet 

thick; that those of White Rock Creek are no more than 

45 feet thick; that those of Mill Creek are about 30 feet 

thick; and that terrace deposits in the other streams of 

the county are less than 20 feet thick. 

Construction materials.--

Aggregate for concrete. 

Road metal. 

Mineral filler. 
Dune sand 

Areal distribution. --Dune sand of Recent age 

(see fig. 4) occurs, in Republic County, in the valleys of the Republican River and Otter Creek. (See 

pl. 1.) The principal dunes in the valley of theRepublican River are along the east side of the valley 

at the south border of the county, on the west side 

of the river northwest of Scandia, and south of Republic City at the base of the east valley wall. 

Smaller areas of dune sand were noted in the valley 

of the Republican River but are not mapped on plate 1 

because of the small quantity of material in eacl:}. of 

them. 

General description. --Dune sands are deposits 

formed through the gradational activity of the wind. 

Areas of' dunes are characterized by a hummocky 

topography, and the sands composing them are 

typically cross-bedded and are tan gray in color. 

The dunes in the valley of the Republican River 

probably represent sand originally spread by flood 

waters and later reworked by the wind. The dunes 

in the valley of Otter Creek were undoubtedly formed 

of sand reworked from the Belleville formation, 

which crops out along the walls of this valley, and 

are being shifted by the wind at the present time. 

Most of the larger dunes in the valley of.the Republican River have been anchored by the growth of 

a cover of vegetation. 

Representative measured section. --The dune 

sands are so homogeneous that it was not thought 

necessary to measure a section of them. 

Thickness. --The dunes vary considerably in 

height; the average height is probably 10 to 15 

feet, but the crests of some of the dunes northwest 

of Scandia stand approximately 50 feet above the 

level of the flood plain upon which they rest. 

Construction material.--

Aggregate for concrete. 

Alluvium 

Areal distribution. --The deposits (see fig. 4) 

formed by streams in their present gradational 

cycles are mapped as alluvium on plate 1. Alluvium 

is defined in this report as the material underlying 

the present flood plain of a stream. The flood plain 

is the area adjacent to the stream channel that is 

covered by water during :qormal flood stage. Alluvium 

is mapped on plate 1 in 'the valleys of the Republican 

River and White Rock, Beaver, and Mill Creeks. 

Alluvial deposits are present, also, in many of the 

smaller valleys in the county but ar·e so narrow that 

they could not be shown on a map of the scale used. 

Alluvium in the valley of the Republican River varies 

in width from 1 to 2 miles, but similar deposits in 

the .other streams of the county are no more than 

0. 25 mile wide. 

General description. --The alluvium of the valley 

of the Republican River is composed predominantly 

of silt, but many lenses of sand and gravelly sand 

are included also. The ·majority of the sand and 

gravel particles are fragments of qua:r:tz and feldspar; minor ·quantities of calcite and chert fragments 

and occasional particles of basic igneous rocks may 

-16-

also be present. The alluvial deposits in other valleys in Republic County are composed almost entirely 

of dark-gray or brown silt, and only occasional and 

very thin lenses of fine sand and gravel are interbedded 

in the silt. 

White Rock Creek is noteworthy in that in its presentday gradational cycle it has incised its channel 25 to 

30 feet below the previous gradational level. Mill 

Creek is similar in this respect, although the depth to 

which it has incised its channel.is only about 20 feet. 

Representative mea,sured section. --Because of the 

low relief of the alluvium it was Impossible to measure 

·a· section representative of this formation. 

Thickness. --Accurate determinations of the thickness 

of the alluvium could not be made in the absence of 

test-hole data. Fishel and Lohman 24/ determined 

from such data that the alluvium in the valley of the 

Republican River reaches its maximum thickness, 

more than 100 feet, in the vicinity of Norway. It is 

probable that the maximum thickness of the alluvium 

in· the valleys of other streams in the county is no 

more than about 50 feet. 

Construction materials. --

Aggregate for concrete. 

Road metal. · 

INVENTORY OF CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS 

General 

The objectives of this inventory of construction 

materials in Republic County are to establish the 

bases upon which the construction materials are 

classified and to analyze the relations of the variou,.s 

materials to the stratigraphic 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'i.nformation given in table 1 is based 

on standard testing procedures of the State Highway 

Commission of Kansas 25/ and the American Association 

of State Highway Officials. 26/ It is expected that prospects 

listed in this report will beproved by subsequent augering, drilling, or test pitting and that the materials_ themselves will be subjected to laboratory testing prior to 

exploitation for specific uses. 

Although numerous prospect pits and quarries were 

located in the field, no attempt was made to complete 

an exhaustive survey of all possible sources, The 

purposes of this report are to inventory the available 

construction materials that occur in Republic County 

and to establish the geologic pattern required for the 

location and development of materials that future 

24Fishel, V. C., and Lohman, S. W., geology and qround water resources 

of Republic County and northern Cloud County, Kans.: Kansas Geol. 

25 Survey Bull. 73, p. 97, 1948 •. 

State Highway Commission of Kansas, Standard specifications for State 

road and bridge construction, 512 pp., 1945. Gradation factor, p. 1§: 

26 Seive analysis, pp. 333-334. Soundness, pp. 335-336. 

American Association of State Highway Officials, Standard specifictrtions 

for highway materials and methods of sampling and testing, pt. 2, 5th 

ed., 361 pp. 1947. Absorption, pp. 251-252. Compressive strength, 

pp. 257-258. Deval abrasion, pp. 235-236. Liquid limit, pp. 198-a:n. 

Los Angeles abrasion, pp. 237-239. Plasticity index, pp. 202-204. 

Specllic gravity, pp. 249-250. Toughness, pp. 240-241. Weight per 

cubic foot, pp. 253-254. 
Location 

c 

0 

~ G) 

(/) 

fa I SE NE 20 I 

fo2 SW SE 28 I 

fo3 SE SE 6 

fo4 SE NE 13 

4 

4 

5 

5 

Average 

thickness 1--;.----.,----.,,-----t 

50,000 16 0 

5,000 10 0-2 

150,000 8-10 0-2 

50,000 15 0 

<t 

.2 

0 

0 

fa5 SE SW 34 I 5 75,000 15 1-5 

Remarks 

Average of four augered samples. 

Htgh percentage of wash. 

Overburden is silt. 

cu foG SW NW 17 2 I 12,000 5-8 1 

g~---r--r---t--i---~---r--------+---+-~-+---+-~~-+~~~~~~---~--~~---~~---------~ ~ fa 7 SE NE 19 2 1 5,000 9 3 Average of two ougered samples; overburden is silt. 

g ~.-fa-8-j_N __ ElrN--El-3--5~-2-lr-l-i----5-,0-0-0--+r4---61-0-~-31-~--~--~--~V~e~r-y~h~ig~h-p-e-rc-e-nto-g-e-o~f~w-o-s~h-;-gr-o~do~t~io-n-f~o-c~to-r-v-e-ry~lo-w-.----~ 

CLI 

~ fa 9 NE SW 21 2 3 25,000 7 6 Average of seven augered samples; high percentage of wash. 

foiO SW SE 13 2 4 5,000+ 4-6 1-5 Overburden is silt. 

fall NW SW 2 2 5 25,000 20 2-6 Overburden is silt of Sanborn formation; gradation factor low. 

fo12 NE NE 4 3 2 105,000 21 1-8 Sample obtained by ougering; fairly high percentage of wash. 

fol3 NW NW 32 3 4 150,000 20 0 

fol4 SE NE I 3 5 50,000 I0-5C 0-1 Fairly high percentage of wash. 

rna I SE SW II I 5 40,000 10 3 dk st 

(l) ma2 NE NE 18 I 5 30,000 15 5 st 

~r-~~~~~~~-t~i-------+--+--~+--4---+--4-----------------------------------~ ~ ma 3 NW NW 24 I '5 50,000 8-10 0-2 

glm-a~5~S:W:i:S:EII.I~G-t~2~~~-t--~l,~o~o~bt-4-t-o~~--~--4---+-------------------------------------~ 

" cl 

cl Overburden is silt. CLI I ma 6 NE SW 24 2 2 6,000 5-12 2-10 

rna 7 SW SE 17 3 4 10,000 15 3-4 

NE SE 7 2 5 I ,000 3-6 1-10 41 25 Overburden 1s silt. 

Cementation factor excessive. ~ ·; rnf I NE NW 4 I 4 150,000 15 0-1 

~;~~~rn~f~2:t:S~E~:S~E~~I~4-t-2~t-~5-t---150~,-0-0-0i-2-0-+~2--t-+---+---+---~c~~e-m-en~t-ot~io-n~fo-c~to-r-e-x-c-es-s iv-e-.----------------------~ 

-b ~ ss I NE NW 15 4 I 1,200 3 0-2 18 

52~~11.~11.~1-~1-~1-~1---------r--1---i~---4--~~--~~~--~~--------------------~-----------J <l>cnss2 NW SW 27 4 2 1,000 4 0-1 )G Highobrosionloss. 

• ~ Is I SE SE 32 2 2 20,000 20 0 9 

J ·~o~~~r=~~--T--i------T---r-~+-~--~~~~-~~77---~--~~-------------~ 0 Is 2 NW NE 6 3 2 2,000 5 0-2 9 One (No._36392) of nine samples tested from same quarry; Devol obrosron loss, 6.9 per cent; not sound. 

Not sound; fairly high absorption factor. 

sh I NE NE 2 1 2 50 000 10 0-2 ,.Y-+--'=2-'-9-+-_12=---! Sampled from road cut; tested for stabilization. , l~>h 34 17 

sh 2 NE SW 2 . 2 5. 150,000 0-15 2-5 ,.~.,..h~3.;..7-+-..;.,16;..-...~ Sampled from open face of quarry; tested for stabilization. 

~~~~~~--t-~r--t----~-t--+-~~~~~~4~~0~~18~---+------------------~~--------------~ ~ sh 3 NW NE 5 3 2 150,000 eo 0·5 ,l~!'-h~3.:::;.2-+-'-13~ Limestone and shale tested for stabilization. 

<I> t-sh~4i-S~E:l~S~W~--12~r-4-lr-2-lr--5-0~~,0-0-0-ri-5-1-0~-~~:~~""YE:r~~j:£::~:~--~L-i_m_es-t-on_e_a_n_d_s_h_al-e-t-es-t-ed--fo_r_s-ta-b-il-iz-a-tio-n-.---------------l !!llh 33 16 

sh5 SE SW 16 4 5 50,00010-15 1-3 30 12 Sampled from face of rood cut; tested for stabilization. 
engineering needs may demand. A certain stratigraphic unit may contain one or more construction 

materials: If the geologic factors of that occurrence 

are establish.ed, the resultant geologic pattern will 

facilitate the discovery of additional sources. 

Aggregate for concrete 

Engineering and geologic characteristics. --Aggregate for concrete is distinguished as fine and 

mixed aggregate in table 1 and on plate 1. The distinction is an arbitrary one based on the percentage 

of material retained on a standard No. 4 sieve. The 

portion of a sample retained on that sieve is designated as the coarse fraction. The material is classified as a rp.ixed aggregate if the coarse fraction is 

5 percent qr more by weight of the whole 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 by screening to conform to required specifications. 

Aggregate for concrete consists of fragments 

of hard, durable minerals or rocks of sand and 

gravel size. The constituent particles are free 

from adherent coatings. that would interfere with 

the bonding of cement with the particles. The 

presence of the following deleterious substances, 

if in quantities thought to be excessive, is noted 

under "Remarks" in table 1: materials passing 

the No. 200 sieve (wash); shaly, soft, or flaky. 

fragments; sticks or other organic debris; clay 

lumps; and minerals that, because of their chemical 

composition may react with the cement to the detriment of the concrete. 

Tpe materials reported in this classification 

are exposed at the surface or are under unconsolidated overburden sufficiently thin that they may be economically developed. Deposits of sand and gravel 

over lain by thick or consolidated beds are usually 

not "included in this classification because of the 

added expense in the removal of the material, nor 

are relatively inacessible deposits; exceptions to 

this practice are noted under "Remarks" in table 1. 

The test characteristics of some of the materials 

included in this classification indicate that these 

materials are not suited for use in concrete. The 

same materials, though, might be acceptable for 

other aggregate uses, such as aggregate for bituminous concrete or cover material. 

Stratigraphic sources and performance character-

·istics. --The following stratigraphic ·units are actual 

or potential sources of aggregate for concrete in Republic County: 

( 1) Dakota sandstone. One sample of loosely 

cemented Dakota sandstone. (fa 8 ) was tested. The 

data are given in table 1; the source of the sample 

is mapped on plate 1. The test data indicate that 

there is an excessive percentage of wash present 

and that the gradation factor is far below the minimum 

acceptable for a fine aggregate. It is doubtful, therefore, that the Dakota sandstone will proye an adequate 

source of fine aggregate for portland cement concrete. 

-17-

(2) Belleville formation. Eight samples of fine 

aggregate (fa 2, 4, 5, 7, and 9 to 12) and three samples 

of mixed aggregate (rna 1, 2, and 5) were taken from 

the Belleville formation. The sampled localities are 

mapped on plate 1, and the test characteristics of 

the samples are given in table 1. Sand and gravel of 

the Belleville formation are composed predominantly 

of particles of quartz and feldspar; minor amounts 

of fragments of acid igneous rocks and basic igneous 

rocks, as well as fragments of carbonate minerals, 

quartzite, and chert, may be present also. Quartzite 

and chert are the only two minerals in this list that 

might prove deleterious if aggregate from the Belleville were used with high-alkali portland cement, but 

the percentages present are so small that the detrimental effect would be essentially negligible. 

The test characteristics of material from this 

formation indicate that it may be acceptable for use 

in portland cement concrete. The gradation factor of 

most of the samples tested is within acceptable limits; 

fa 11 is the only sample tested that is markedly deficient in this respect. The amount of wash in samples 

fa 4 (13. 6 percent), fa 9 (17. 3 percent), and fa 12 (9. 7 

percent) may be excessive. The color test of sample 

rna 1 showed dark straw, but the results of the color 

tests of several other samples were satisfactory, aE 

were the results of the Los Angeles and soundness 

tests of several additional samples. 

The quantity of sand and gravel that can··"J:?e obtained from the Belleville formation is almost unlimited. Numerous additional sources of material 

occur in the northwestern part of the county. In much 

of this area, however, the Belleville formation is concealed beneath silt of the Sanborn formation and pit 

sites must be located by augering. The thickness of 

the overburden (Sanborn formation) is variable; it i.a 

lE!a.st along the streams and increases somewhat toward the north boundary of the county. The overburden, 

however, may be used in some phase of construction 

and, in any case, may be removed easily. 

(3) Sanborn formation. One ·sample of fine aggregate 

(fa 6) and one of mixed aggregate (rna 4) were obtained 

from the Sanborn formation. Although the coarse fractions of both samples show an unusually high percentage 

of chalk fragments (see table 1), the test characteristics 

of the material are apparently within acceptable limits. 

Despite the softness of the chalk fragments, the compressive strength ratios for both samples are well above 

the minimum limit. 

Additional supplies of sand and gravel from the 

Sanborn formation are undoubtedly present in the basal 

part of the formation. They can best be located by 

intensive search of the margins of the mapped outcrop 

area of the Sanborn formation (see pl. 1), especially 

in places where streams have cut through the Sanborn 

into underlying stratigraphic units. The sands and 

gravels occur as lenses of variable extent however, 

generally with only limited quantities of material 

available. In some places noted by the writers, the 

sand and gravel lenses were too limited quantitatively 

considering the thick overburden of silt, to justify 

development. 

. Plummer and ffiadik 27 I regard the clays and silts 

27Plummer, N., and Hladik, W. B::-:fhe manufacture of ceratnic railroad 

ballast and constructional aggregates from Kansas clays and silts: 

Kansas Geol. Survey Bull. 76, pp. 87-89, 94, 95, 1948. 
of Pleistocene age as the most promising raw 

materials.available in the State for the manufacture 

of ceramic slag. Used as an aggregate in concrete, 

the slag has an additional advantage in its light 

weight. · 

(4) Terrace deposits. Only one sample of sand 

and gravel from the terrace deposits (rna 3) was 

tested (see tabie 1 and pl. 1). The test data available for this sample are incomplete, but the material 

is probably satisfactory for use in portland cement 

concrete. Sands and gravels occur in the terrace 

deposits, but usually at -a prohibitive depth below the 

top of the formation; the expense Qf removing the 

overburden would be too great, in most cases, for 

the economical development of the sand and gravel. 

Lenses of -material in this classification can probably 

be found by intensive exploration of the basal part . 

of the terrace deposits in the valley of the Republican 

River; exploration of terrace deposits in the valleys 

of other streams in the county would probably not be 

productive. 

(5) Dune sand. Two samples of dune sand (fa 1 

and 14) are classified as fine aggregate in table 1; 

their sources are mapped on plate 1. The test 

characteristics indicate that this material may be 

used as an additive to reduce the gradation factor 

of a mixed aggregate to specified requirements. 

· The sand might also be used as a mortar sand. A 

large quantity of dune sand is available within the 

mapped areas on plate 1. 

(6) Alluvium. Two samples of alluvium (fa 3 

and fa 13) are classified as fine aggregate, and one 

sample (rna 6) is classified as mixed aggregate in 

table 1; the localities from which the samples were 

obtained are mapped on plate 1. Mineral analyses 

of the samples indicate ·that deleterious substances 

are not present in critical quantities. The test 

results show that the gradation factor for all samples 

tested is within acc.eptable limits and that the compr~ssive strength ratio, Los Angeles abrasion loss, 

and soundness ratio for the sample of mixed aggregate 

are within required limits. 

An almost unlimited quantity of sand and gravel 

is available for exploitation in the alluvium of the 

valley of the Republican River. The material occurs 

in lenses of variable extent within the area mapped 

on plate 1. Lenses of sand are more numerous than 

lenses of gravelly sand, but exploration of the alluvium would certainly reveal adequate quantities of 

both fine and mixed aggregate. The overburden is 

negligible for these occurrences, but much of the 

material will probably have to be removed from 

below the water table. 

Road·metal 

Engineering and geologic characteristics. --Road 

metal, known also as surfacing material, crushed 

stone, and aggregate, is defined in this report as 

any material thatmay be applied to a road to improve 

the performance characteristics of that road. Many 

geologic materials fulfill this requirement, and the 

list of such materials will vary from one area to 

another. The following materials in Republic 

County have been used or are available for use as 

road metal. 

-18~ 

(1) Aggregate for concrete. 

(2) Limestone gravel. Limestone gravel is defined by the State Highway Commission of Kansas as 

a sedimentary material composed of rounded fragments 

of local limestone, usually about three-fourths of an 

inch long, incorporated in a matrix of silt-size particles. Limestone gravel is used extensively throughout north-central Kansas as road metal on secondary 

roads. 

(3) Crushed rock. Indurated rocks are available 

in Republic County for use as crushed stone in road 

construction or in railway ballast, and some of them 

have been so used. The rocks are (a) limestone, a 

compac·t, massive layer of calcareous material, variable in its hardness; (b) quartzite, a massive, compact, 

hard rock in which sand or gravel or both, have been 

firmly silica-cemented by the action of percolating 

ground water; and (c) sandstone, a massive rock composed predominantly of sand-size particles of quartz 

more or less firmly cemented by interstitial deposits 

of calcium carbonate, silica, or iron oxide. 

The materials included here under crushed rock 

are listed in table 1 and mapped on plate 1 under the 

more specific designations "limestone", "quartzite", 

and "sandstone" because, in addition to their use as 

road metal, they may be used as structural stone and 

riprap. 

Stratigraphic ~sand performance characteristics.--

(1) Aggregate for concrete. Materials listed in 

the section "Aggregate for concrete" have been used 

in various types of road construction in Republic County or are available for use. The alluvium of the Republican River and the Belleville formation are the two , 

most widely exploited s'ources of material for use in 

the base course of bituminous-mat roads or as loose 

road metal on light-traffic roads. Gravelly sands in 

the basal part of the Sanborn formation are used locally in the construction of sand-gravel road~. Field 

observation indicates that these materials perform 

satisfactorily when used as loose road metal; no 

information is available on the performance of these 

materials in the construction of roads of a bituminous 

mat type. 

(2) Limestone gravel. One sample of limestone 

gravel {lg 1) was obtained from the Sanborn formation; 

the test characteristics are given in table 1. This 

material, so far as is known, occurs only iri lenses. in 

the basal part of the Sanborn formation, and in Republic County the lenses are restricted to the western 

part of the county where the Sanborn formation overlies the Carlile shale. The gravel-size particles of 

limestone appear to have been eroded from nearby 

· outcrops· of the Niobrara formation in Jewell County. 

The material is acceptable road metal for light-traffic 

roads, and additional de_posits of limestone gravel undoubtedly occur in other places along the west boundary 

of the county. 

(3) Crushed rock. 

(a) Dakota sandstone. The Dakota sandstone 

is used as loose road metal on some of the light-traffic 

roads in the eastern and southeastern parts of Republic 
County. The material appears to be satisfactory 

when so u~ed but is reported to cause excessive 

tire wear. Field observation indicates that rock 

from ledges ~ the Dakota sandstone cemented by 

iron oxide is most often used for thi£ purpose. 

The test characteristics of two samples (ss 1 and 

2) secured from the Dakota sandstone are given 

in table 1, and tne locations from which the samples 

were obtained are mapped on plate 1. Additional 

sources of sandstone occur within the mapped 

ourcrop area of the formation, as shown on plate 

1, and other quarries could be opened at convenient 

sites within that area. 

The loosely cemented beds of Dakota sandstone 

may be us,ed in the construction of certain kinds of 

bituminou~-mat roads, but such beds are not nearly 

so numerous as are the lime- or iron-cemented beds. 

The poor cementation of the sand grains permits 

easy pulverization and, therefore, ready admixing 

with other materials required in the construction 

of the roads. 

The quartzitic sandstones (silica-cemented) or 

quartzitelike sandstones (lime-cemented) in this 

formation might also be used in road construction. 

The material, if crushed ~d applied to the road in 

particles less than 0. 5. inch in maximum dimension, 

should serve adequately as loose road metal. This 

use of quartzite of the Ogallala formation has been 

observed on light-traffic roads in north-central 

Kansas. The crushed quartzite might also be used 

to sweeten aggregates to the gradings desired lor 

other construction materials uses. Both silicacemented quartzitic sandstone and lime-cemented 

quartzitelike sandstone occur in Republic County, 

but the silica-cemented rock is not nearly so abundant as the lime-cemented. Int'3nsive search of the 

mapped outcrop area o~ the Dakota sandstone 

(see pl. 1) would undoubtedly reveal additional 

sources of these materials. 

(b) Greenhorn limestone. The limestones 

and shales of the Greenhorn limestone have been 

used rather extensively in various types of road 

construction in Republic County. Two samples of 

limestone (1s 1 and 2) were tested, and the data 

are given in table 1. Five samples of shales and 

limestones (sh 1 to 5) were tested as stabilized 

fill, and the results are presented in table 1. All 

· sources are mapped on plate 1. 

The1shales, on the basis of the test data, appear 

to be acceptable as material for stabilization. The 

chalky limestones and shales of the Pfeifer shale 

and Jetmore chalk members are used throughout 

the outcrop area oi the Greenhorn limestone in the 

construction of the traffic-bound macadam kind of 

light-traffic road. The limestone fragments are 

stock-piled over the winter season. Weathering 

by slaking and freeze-and-thaw causes the surficial 

portion of each limestone fragment to slough off. 

The residual portion is then crushed, mixed with 

the shales from the same formation, and applied 

to the road. The mixture compacts to form an 

acceptable light-traffic surfacing in which the wetweather performance is satisfactory and which shows 

little or no tendency toward dry-we<!-tqer dusting. 

Field observation indicates that a course at least 

6 inches thick should be applied or the macadam 

-19-

will tend to break out in critical places along the 

road. An almost unlimited amount of chalky lime- ' 

stone and shale from the upper part of the Greenhorn 

limestone is available throughout the mapped outcrop 

area of this formation in Republic County; a quarry 

could be opened at any convenient site within that 

area. 

Mineral filler 

Engineering and geologic characteristics. --Material composed predominantly of silt-s1ze mineral 

particles (50 percent or more of which pass 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. The State Highway Commission of 

K~sas 28/ states that material will qualify for mineral 

filler iflaboratory tests indicate a low coefficient of 

cementation. Deficiencies of the tested samples in 

this characteristic are noted under "Remarks" in 

table 1. Failure of the material to pulverize easily, 

a factor of cementation, increases the difficulty of 

obtaining its uniform distribution throughout the 

mixture. 

Stratigraphic sources and performance character· 

istics. --

(1) Sanborn formation. Two samples of 

mineral filler (mf 1 and 2) taken from the Sanborn 

formation were tested in the Road Materials Laboratory of the State Highway Commission; the test data 

are given in table 1, and the localities from which the 

samples were collected are mapped on plate 1. The 

sieve analyses indicate that both samples are acceptable 

as mineral filler' but in both cases the cementation 

factor is probably excessive (100+). It is probable 

that the two samples were taken from the B zone of 

the soil profile, in which seconJary deposits of 

calcium carbonate tend to cement the particles of 

silt. If the samples had been secured from the underlying C zone of the soil profile, however, the cementation factor would probably have been within acceptable 

limits, inasmuch as secondary deposits of calcium 

carbonate are not characteristic of the C zone. The 

Sanborn formation is the most widespread source of 

mineral filler in Republic County, and pits could be 

opened in it at any convenient site throughout the area 

of its outcrop. For this reason, only a few prospect 

and operated pits are mapped on plate 1. It is recommended that, prior to the development of the site, the 

material be laboratory-tested and its cementation 

factor determined. 

(2) Terrace deposits. No samples' of mineral 

filler from the terrace deposits of Republic County 

were tested in the laboratory, but this stratigraphic 

unit is a potential source of mineral filler and has 

been exploited in other counties of the State. Silts 

of the terrace deposits are similar lithologically to 

silts of the Sanborn formation; it is probable, therefore, that the test characteristics are about the same. 

A sample should be laboratory-tested to determine the 

cementation factor prior to the development of a site. 

Volcanic ash 

Engineering and geologic characteristics. 

28Horner, S. E., letter dated Jan. 4, 1947. 
Volcanic ash is sometimes classified as mineral 

filler, but in this report it is distinguished as a 

special type of mineral filler because it is suitable for certain uses other than those of the usual 

silty filler. ·volcanic ash· consists predominantly 

of the .fine, glasslike shards ejected during the 

axplosive 1

phase of a volcanic eruption. The material may include silt-size particles of other origins 

and occasional-thin seams of gravel, sand, and 

clay. 

Two important engineering uses are made of 

volcanic ash. This material is used 1

as mineral 

filler in bituminous surface courses-for roads and 

airports because it has a low plasticity index, 

generally :is only poorly cemented, is free from 

organic m~tter and other deleterious constituents, 

and combines well with the bituminous material. 

Road surfacing in w].'lich volcanic ash has been us.ed 

in this manner generally gives better service than 

that in which a silty filler has been used. Rather 

recently, volcanic ash has been considered again 

for use in making puzzolan cements. Puzzolan cements are more satisfactory for certain types of 

engineering construction than are the portland 

cements. 

Stratii¥fiaphic sourc.es and performance characteristics. -- e Sanborn formation appears to be the 

only potential source of volcanic ash in Republic 

County. The field partv found one deoosit of very 

impure ash near the base of tJ;lis formation. '(See 

section on Sanborn formation. ) It is possible that 

other deposits of sufficient purity to be developed 

economically occur in the basal part of the Sanborn 

formation. Prospecting for such deposits should 

be done near the margin of the mapped outcrop 

area of the formation, especially where streams 

have cut through the SaJlborn into underlying stratigraphic units. If found, the deposits will prove 

to be limited in quantity because of the lenslike 

masses in which the volcanic ash is known to occur. 

Numerous lenses of volcanic ash have been found 

in the northern part of Jewell County in the basal 

part of the Sanborn formation. 

Engineering and geologic characteristics.--

Riprap, as defined in this report, is any material 

suitable for protecting earthen fills from erosion. 

To be acceptable for this use the material must be 

relatively sound and free from cracks and other 

structural defects or impurities that would cause 

it to disintegrate through erosion, slaking, or freezeand-thaw. It is desirable that the material be in 

blocks having approxim<:~.tely rectangular faces 7 

inches or more in width and that the specific 

gravity be 2 or higher. 

Stratigraphic sources and performance characteristlcs. --

(1) Dakota sandstone. The quartzitic 

and quartzitelike sandstones of the Dakota are 

acceptable materials for use as riprap. The rock 

is sound, and the Los Angeles abrasion loss is 

within acceptable limits; the absorption factor is 

not excessive, and the specific gravity is well 

above the minimum limit. Test characteristics of 

-20-

two samples (ss 1 and 2) are given in table 1, and 

the localities from which the samples were obtained 

are mapped on plate 1. Similar materials from the 

Dakota sandstone have been used as riprap on numerous 

earthen dams in central and north-central Kansas, 

including the recently constructed Kamopolis dam; 

field observations indicate that the rock is acceptable 

for this use. The less well cemented zones of the 

Dakota sandstone are probably not acceptable for use 

as riprap because of excessive abrasion and freezeand-thaw losses. 

(2) Greenhorn limestone. Some use of the 

chalky limestones from the upper part of the Greenhorn limestone as riprap has been observed in northcentral Kansas. Field observation indicates, however, 

that this stone is not satisfactory when so used. It 

disintegrates quite rapidly through slaking and freezean$i-thaw and soon looses its protective value. The 

development of the Greenhorn limestone as a source of 

riprap is highly inadvisable. 

Structural stone 

Engineering and geologic characteristics. --Structural stone, as defined in this report, is any hard, 

dense rock material that can be quarried and cut to 

desired size and shape. Materials fulfilling these requirements occur in the Dakota sandstone and Greenhorn limestone in Republic County. 

Stratigraphic sources a.Rd performance characteristics. --

{1) Dakota sandstone. Limited use of the 

Dakota sandstone as a source of structural stone has 

1 been observed in Republic County and in other counties 

in which this formation crops out. The quartzitic and 

quartzitelike phases of the formation are probably 

entirely acceptable for use as structural stone; the 

iron-cemented phase and the loosely cemented sandstones are probably not acceptable, although blocks 

of the iron-cemented sandstone have been observed in 

buildings in the area. The amount of quartzitic and 

quartzitelike sandstone now known in Republi-c County 

is quite limited, but intensive exploration of the western 

margin of the mapped area of ~utcrop (see pl. 1) will 

probably yield additional sources. 

(2) Greenhorn limestone. Two limestone beds 

in the Greenhorn limestone are used in this and adjacent 

areas as structural stone. The shell-rock bed at the 

top of the Jetmore chalk member is quarried and used 

in the eastern part of Republic County, and the "Fencepost" limestone bed at the top of the Pfeifer shale 

member is qUarried and used in the western part of the 

co.unty. Field observation indicates that these beds are 

acceptable sources of structural stone. Buildings 

constructed of them 50 years or more ago are still 

standing and show no sign of serious deterioration of 

the stone_itself. The "Fencepost" limestone offers a 

far more pleasing appearance than does the shell rock. 

The latter tends to weather irregularly and to develop 

1 a somewhat unpleasing appearance; the iron-stained 

band in the middle part of the "Fencepost" limestone 

bed, however, imparts a pleasing appearance to the 

finished structure. The "Fencepost" limestone is used 

I rather extensively, also, as structural stone in the 

construction of small bridges in the area and seems 

acceptable for this use. 

Interior-Dilpll-cating Section. Washington. D. c. 

1n10