GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 359

URANIUM-BEARING SANDSTONE IN THE 

WHITE RIVER BADLANDS 

PENNINGTON COUNTY 

SOUTH DAKOTA

This report concerns work done on 

behalf of the U. S. Atomic Energy 

Commission and is published with 

the permission of the Commission.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Douglas McKay, Secretary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

W. E. Wrather, Director

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 359

URANIUM-BEARING SANDSTONE IN THE WHITE RIVER BADLANDS 

PENNINGTON COUNTY, SOUTH DAKOTA

By George W. Moore and Murray Levish

This report concerns work done on 

behalf of the U. S. Atomic Energy 

Commission and is published with 

the permission of the Commission.

Washington, D. C., 1955

Free on application to the Geological Survey, Washington 25, D. C.
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Figure 1. Index map showing location of area described in this report and its relation to other sandstone-type

uranium occurrences (shown by star).
URANIUM-BEARING SANDSTONE IN THE WHITE RIVER BADLANDS 

PENNINGTON COUNTY, SOUTH DAKOTA

By George W. Moore and Murray Levish

CONTENTS

Page

Abstract....................................... 1

Introduction. .......*........................... 1

Stratigraphy .................................. 2

Cretaceous recks......................... 2

Pierre shale........................ 2

Tertiary rocks........................... 2

Chadron

formation......................... 2

Brule formation..................... 2

Page

Stratigraphy Continued

Quaternary deposits...................... 2

Pediment gravel.................... 2

Alluvium........................... 2

Structure..................................... 2

Uranium occurrencea......................... 4

Origin.................................. 4

Suggestions for prospecting.................... 7

Literature cited .............................. 7

ILLUSTRATIONS

Page

Plate 1. Geology of part of the White River badlands, Pennington County, S. Dak. ............. Inside back cover

Figure 1. Index map showing location of area described in this report

	and its relation to other sandstone-type uranium occurrences.................................. ii

2. Stratigraphic sections of rocks in the vicinity of the Hart Table uranium occurrence................ 3

3. The Chadron and Brule formations in the White River badlands................................... 5

4. Mineralized channel sandstone in the Chadron formation......................................... 5

5. A carnotite-bearing chalcedony vein in the Brule formation...................................... 5

6. Map showing area! distribution of rocks of the White River group in the Rocky Mountain region...... 6

TABLE

Analyses of samples collected in the White River badlands, Pennington County, S. Dak.

ABSTRACT

The uranium mineral uranocircite, a barium uranyl 

phosphate, occurs in a channel sandstone in the Chadron 

formation of Oligocene age in the White River badlands, 

Pennington County, S. Dak. A vertical section of the basal 

1-foot of the channel contains 0. 25 percent uranium. Small 

amounts of metatyuyamunite (?) occur in the upper part of 

a freshwater limestone bed in the Chadron formation, and 

carnotite occurs in chalcedony veins in the overlying Brule 

formation, also of Oligocene age. The source of the uranium is thought to have been volcanic ash in the Brule formation and the overlying rocks of Miocene age. Downward 

moving ground water may have leached this uranium and 

deposited it in the rocks below.

INTRODUCTION

Uranium-bearing sandstone was found on the 

south scarp of Hart Table, near Scenic, Pennington County, S. Dak. (fig. 1), by R. E. Melin,

R. C. Kepferle, and the writers on July 28, 1953. 

The uranium minerals occur in a channel sandstone 

in the Chadron formation of the White River group. 

Reconnaissance was undertaken because rocks of the 

same formation contain uranium in the Slim Buttes 

area, 1 in the northwestern part of South Dakota, 

and overlie uranium deposits in Wyoming (Love, 1952).

An area of 12 square miles was mapped in detail (pi. 1) to provide data that might assist in interpreting the origin of the uranium and guide the 

search for other occurrences. The area is located 

about 40 miles southeast of Rapid City and 3 miles 

southwest of Scenic, a rail shipping point. Access 

is by a graded road that extends 3 miles west from 

State Highway 40 at Scenic and 2 miles south across 

the flat surface of Hart Table to its south tip.

1 Gill, J. R., and Moore, G. V., Carnotite-bcaring sandstone in Cedar 

Canyon, Slim Buttes, Harding County, South Dakota. In preparation as a 

Geological Survey report.
The White River badlands is the type area for 

badlands topography. It is characterized by a deeply 

dissected erosion surface of which Hart Table, 

Randolph Table, and Sheep Mountain Table are 

remnants. Between these mesas the tributaries 

of the Cheyenne River and White River have cut 

steep-walled valleys. Vegetation is nearly absent 

except for a few trees along Indian Creek and 

grass on the mesa tops.

The area was first mapped by the Powell 

Survey in 1875 (Newton, 1879). It was remapped 

by Darton (1905) in connection with work on the 

water resources of the Great Plains. The stratigraphy and paleontology of the rocks of the 

White River group have been studied in detail by 

Wanless (1922, 1923), Osborn (1929), and Clark (1937).

N. M. Denson suggested the investigation and 

gave valuable assistance during all of its phases. 

W. A. Braddock collected some of the samples 

used in evaluating the uranium occurrence, and 

L. R. Page provided valuable suggestions concerning the appraisal of the occurrence. The work 

was done on behalf of the Division of Raw Materials of the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission.

STRATIGRAPHY

The rocks exposed in the area range in age 

from Cretaceous to Pleistocene (pi. 1). The Pierre 

shale of Late Cretaceous age crops out in the 

valley of Indian Creek in the western part of the 

area. Unconformably overlying the Pierre shale 

are conglomerate, sandstone, and bentonitic claystone of the Chadron formation of Oligocene age. 

The Brule formation, also of Oligocene age, is 

composed mostly of tuffaceous sandstone and siltstone and conformably overlies the Chadron formation. The Chadron and Brule formations together make up the White River group. In the 

area studied these formations have a combined 

thickness of about 600 feet. Lying unconformably 

on all of these rocks is a thin layer of pediment 

gravel of Pleistocene age.

Cretaceous rocks 

Pierre shale

The oldest rocks exposed in the mapped 

area, an olive-gray to light-olive-gray clay shale, 

have been assigned to the Pierre shale of Late Cretaceous age.

The Chadron formation unconformably overlies a light brown zone, called the "Interior formation" by Ward (1922), at the top of the Pierre 

shale. Wanless (1923, p. 197) has suggested that 

this zone was oxidized and weathered before deposition of the White River group. The zone is 

about 50 feet thick in most of the area but is 

absent where the basal rocks of the Chadron formation lie in a great channel cut in the Pierre 

shale. This channel, called the "Red River Valley' 1 

by Clark (1937),. is about 70 feet deep and 8 miles 

wide. The channel trends east and its north wall, 

not shown on the map (pi. 1), is near the center 

of the mapped area.

Tertiary rocks 

Chadron formation

The Chadron formation of Oligocene age is the 

lowest formation of the White River group and in 

the area studied rests unconformably on the Pierre 

shale. It ranges in thickness from 70 to 140 feet 

and may be divided into two principal lithologic units. 

The lower unit is present only in the "Red River 

Valley" channel and consists dominantly of crossbedded sandstone; it also contains some conglomerate and bentonitic claystone (fig. 2). The upper 

unit is largely yellowish-gray bentonitic claystone, 

but it also contains channel sandstone and widespread, 

but thin, discontinuous beds of impure limestone. 

These limestone beds commonly are partly silicified. 

Uranium minerals occur locally in the limestone beds 

and channel sandstone. Four channels have been indicated on the geologic map, plate 1. Other channels are present but were not mapped.

Brule formation

Overlying the Chadron formation and differentiated from it by a lithologic and color change is 

the Brule formation of Oligocene age. It is made 

up of siltstone, silty claystone, and very fine grained 

sandstone. The light-brown claystone of the Brule 

formation contrasts in color with the yellowish-gray 

claystone of the Chadron formation, and the siltstone 

of the Brule formation is a characteristic grayish 

orange-pink. The base at most places is marked by 

a limestone bed at the top of the Chadron formation.

The Brule formation has a maximum thickness 

of about 500 feet in the area studied and is composed of mixed detrital and volcanic material. The 

upper 130 feet is almost entirely volcanic ash.

Quaternary deposits 

Pediment gravel

The accordant upper surfaces of Hart Table, 

Randolph Table, and Sheep Mountain Table are covered with a veneer of gravel and silt of probable 

Pleistocene age. These deposits, which are 5 to 

15 feet thick, lie on the Missouri Plateau (Fenneman, 

1931). In the mapped area the Pleistocene deposits 

rest on the Brule formation, but the Missouri Plateau 

surface cuts progressively downward to the northwest 

and within a few miles the deposits rest on the Chadron 

formation and Pierre shale.

Alluvium

Alluvium occurs along Indian Creek and its major 

tributaries and at a few other places in the area, but 

the deposits are small and were not mapped.

STRUCTURE

The rocks of the White River group in the vicinity 

of the Hart Table uranium occurrence dip about 30 feet 

per mile to the southeast away from the Black Hills uplift. No faults have been recognized in the area.
a 

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I

Pierre shale Chadron formation Brule formation 

UPPER CRETACEOUS OLIGOCENE 

CRETACEOUS TERTIARY 
Chalcedony veins as much as 2 inches thick are common in the mapped area. Some sandstone dikes also were 

found. The chalcedony veins and sandstone dikes fill 

nearly vertical fractures, some of which are more than 

100 feet long. The fractures are present in the Brule formation and rarely extend into the underlyingbentonitic 

claystone of the Chadron formation. Wanless (1923, p. 256) 

describes dikes of volcanic ash in the Brule formationnear 

Imlay, S. Dak., the filling mate rial of which was clearly 

derived from a bed of volcanic ashhigher in the formation, 

demonstrating a nearly contemporaneous origin. The 

chalcedony is generally believed to have been derived by 

leaching of silica from the volcanic ash in the Brule formation (Lawler, 1923, p. 170; Bump, 1951, p. 45).

Many workers have considered that the fractures have 

resulted from contraction of the deposits by desiccation 

(Wanless, 1923, p. 256; Bump, 1951, p. 45), but Smith 

(1952), noting the vertical extent of the dikes through several beds of differinglithology, the absence of polygonal 

desiccation pattern, and other evidence, has largely discredited this hypothesis. Lawler (1923, p. 165) plotted 

the directions of many of the fracture fillings but found no 

systematic orientation that might suggest a tectonic origin.

In the mapped area it was observed that the fractures 

are most numerous where the Brule formation overlies the 

margins of channels in the Chadron formation, particularly 

along the sides of the "Red River Valley" channel. The 

origin of the fractures maybe due to differential compac - 

tion along the sides of underlying channels.

URANIUM OCCURRENCES

Uranium minerals are most abundant along the axis 

of a channel sandstone (localities 3-11, pi. 1) on the south 

flank of Hart Table in the NEi sec. 31, T. 3S., R. 13 E. 

This channel is near the top of the Chadron formation 

(fig 3). It is about 500 feet wide, has a maximum thickness 

of 7 feet, and is at least 1 mile long. The uranium minerals, 

however, are exposed through only a short part of its total 

length. The channel filling is composed of yellowish-gray 

coarse-grained sandstone which is moderately well sorted. 

The basal 2 feet are very well indurated and form a prominent ledge (fig. 4). The channel is directly underlain by 

an impermeable bed of bentonitic claystone.

The uranium mineral has been identified by X-ray 

diffraction methods as uranocircite by W. F. Outerbridge.

This yellow-greennonfluorescentbarium uranyl phosphate 

is associated in the rock withbarite and apatite. It is dis - 

seminated through the lower 2 feet of the channel sandstone, 

and the most intense mineralization has been in the basal 

few inches of the channel. Some uranocircite is present in 

fractures in the top inch of the underlying bentonite. Analyses of these rocks are given in the table below.

Metatyuyamunite(?), a calcium uranyl vanadate, 

occurs at one place in a bed of freshwater limestone in the 

Chadron formation in the NEi sec. 36, T. 3S., R. 12 E. 

This limestone bed marks the top of the Chadron formation 

and is about 2 feet thick. The bed is partly replaced by chalcedony. The metatyuyamunite (?) is in the top inch of the bed.

In addition to uranium minerals in sandstone and 

limestone in the Chadron formation, efflorescent coatings 

of carnotite, a potassium uranyl vanadate, occur on chalcedony veins in the Brule formation at several localities 

(fig. 5). These coatings are very thin and are only found on 

the outer surfaces of the vertical or near-vertical veins,

Uranium occurrences in the White River badlands 

probably originated in one of the following ways: By deposition of uranium minerals with the original sediments 

in the channel and possible later redistribution by groundwater; by deposition from hydrothermal solutions; and 

by deposition from groundwater solutions that have 

leached the uranium from overlying volcanic ash.

The uranium deposits of the Colorado Plateau 

probably originated at about the same time, possibly by 

the concentration of uranium shortly after deposition of 

the enclosing rocks (Fischer, 1942).

Sediments in the channel sandstone in the 

White River badlands probably were partly derived 

from the Black Hills, 50 miles to the west, where 

important uranium deposits occur in the Inyan Kara 

group of Early Cretaceous age (Page and Redden, 1952). 

Uranium derived from the erosion of these deposits, 

or from deposits in the pre-Cambrian rocks of the 

Black Hills, could have been localized at the time 

the sandstone in the channel was laid down. However, it would be difficult to explain the concentration of uranium in the chalcedony veins in the 

overlying.Brule formation by the same process.

Analyses of samples collected in the White River badlands

[Analyses by: E. J. Fennelly, S. P. Furman, Wayne Mountjoy, and J. E. Wilson]

Map 

locality

1

2

1)

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Lab. 

numberD-96194

D-96195

D-96197

0-98838

D 98837

D-93407

D 98835

D-96198

D

,-, QQ-z/T

D 98839

D 96199

D 96196

Material

Chalcedony 

. do 

 do 

__ __ do - 

 do 

 do 

Chalcedony 

do - ~ ----- - -

Type of sample

Grab 

 do 

 do 

Grab 

26-in. channel 

12-in. channel 

21-in. channel 

Grab 

 do 

Equivalent 

uranium 

(percent)

0.017

.007 

.12

.006

.008

 13 

.014

.20

f~\f~\r\

.013

.010

.015

Uranium 

(percent)

0.023

.008

.22

.005

.007 .24'

.013

oc <ZD 

.022

.012

.013

.013
Figure 3. The Chadron and Brule formations in the White River 

badlands. Arrow indicates exposure of uranium-bearing 

channel sandstone.

Figure 4. Mineralized channel sandstone in the Chadron formation.

Figure 5. A carnotite-bearing chalcedony vein in the Brule formation.
NORTH DAKOTA

MONTANA

W Y 0 M I N

SOUTH DAKOTA

Compiled from Federal end State survey maps

Figure 6. Map showing areal distribution of rocks of the White River group in the Rocky Mountain region.
The chalcedony veins fill fractures that are thought 

to have been caused by differential compaction of the 

rocks before lithification. They might be considered 

to be hydro thermal deposits; however, when traced 

downward, they are not found to pass through the bentonitic claystone of the Chadron formation. No evidence of hydrothermal activity has been reported in the 

entire region of the White River badlands.

Many writers believe that the chalcedony was derived from silica leached by ground water from volcanic 

ash in the enclosing rocks (Lawler, 1923, p. 170; Bump, 

1951, p. 45). The source that seems to most satisfactorily explain the geologic relations is the overlying tuf f aceous 

rocks of the Brule formation, and rocks of Miocene age that 

were removed by erosion after the fractures were filled 

but which are still present southeast of the mapped area.

N. M. Denson, G. O. Bachman, and H. D. Zeller 

(written communication, 1950) first suggested that some 

uranium deposits may have had their source from pyroclastic debris containing small amounts of uranium in 

Tertiary rocks. Others have considered this type of 

origin for uranium-bearing sandstone deposits of Wyoming (Love, 1952), Utah (Proctor, 1953), the Colorado 

Plateau (Gruner, 1954), and other areas.

The rocks of the Brule formation contain on the average about 0.001 percent uranium. Gill and Moore 2 have 

shown that spring water issuingfrom the White River group 

and the Arikaree formation in the Slim Buttes area, 

Harding County, S. Dak., contains about 10 to 30 times as 

much uranium as water from the nontuff aceous Ludlow 

and Hell Creek formations. The spring water also contains significant concentrations of vanadium. The average 

uranium content of water from 26 springs in the White River 

group and Arikaree formation is 41 parts per billion, 

whereas water from 8 springs in the Ludlow and Hell Creek 

formations averages 4 parts per billion uranium. Even the 

waters from these nontuff aceous formations may have been 

enriched by the nearby tuff aceous rocks, as the uranium 

content of water long distances from known sources of uranium is even lower. Sheldon Judson and Kenneth Osmond 

(written communication, 1953) obtained an average uranium content of only 0. 4 parts per billion uranium from 

42 well samples in Wisconsin, and the uranium content of 

the ocean is only about 1 part per billion (Koczy, 1950).

It is suggested that the uranium occurrences in 

the White River badlands were formed over a long 

period of time by the precipitation of uranium from 

groundwater solutions. The source of the uranium 

is believed to have been from volcanic ash in the rocks 

of upper Oligocene and Miocene age. Meteoric water 

moving downward and laterally may have leached uranium and carried it until a favorable physical and 

chemical environment for deposition was reached in 

fractures in the Brule formation and channel sandstone and limestone beds in the Chadron formation. 

The volcanic ash may also have been the source of the 

silica in the chalcedony veins and silicified limestone.

SUGGESTIONS FOR PROSPECTING

An airborne radioactivity survey of part of the White 

River badlands was conducted by the U. S. Geological Survey. This survey showed that the rocks of the White 

River group have a much higher radioactivity than the

2<JiIl, J. R., and Moore, G. T., op. cit.

underlying rocks. In addition, spring-water samples 

from widespread areas in these rocks contain high concentrations of uranium. A sample from sec. 13, T. 31 N., 

R. TOW., Converse County, Wyo., contains 150 parts 

per billion uranium (M. L. Troyer, personal communication), and a sample from sec. 21, T. ION., R. 60W., 

Weld County, Colo., contains 12 parts per billion 

(H. A. Tourtelot, personal communication).

The White River group is exposed chiefly in North 

and South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, and 

Montana (fig. 6). Prospecting might be rewarding in 

these States both in the White River group and in underlying rocks, which may have derived uranium from the 

White River group. Tuffaceous rocks principally of 

Miocene age may also be important sources of uranium. 

These rocks mantle parts of the Great Plains from 

North Dakota to Texas.

LITERATURE CITED

Bump, J. D., 1951, The White River Badlands of South 

Dakota: Soc. Vertebrate Paleontology, 5th Field Conf., 

p. 35-46.

Clark, John, 1937, The stratigraphy and paleontology 

of the Chadron formation in the Big Badlands of South 

Dakota: Carnegie Mus. Annals, v. 25, p. 263-272.

Darton, N. H., 1905, Preliminary report on the geology 

and underground water resources of the central Great 

Plains: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 32.

Fenneman, N. M., 1931, Physiography of the Western 

United States: New York, McGraw-HillBookCo., p. 61.

Fischer, R. P., 1942, Vanadium deposits of Colorado 

and Utah: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 936-P, p. 363-394.

Gruner, J. W., 1954, The origin of the uranium deposits 

of the Colorado Plateau and adjacent regions: Mines 

Mag., v. 44, p. 53-56.

Koczy, Gerta, 1950, Further uranium determinations on 

sea water samples: Akad. Wiss. Wien, Math, -naturwiss. 

KL., Sitzungsber., Abt. 2a, v. 158, p. 113-122.

Lawler, T. B., 1923, On the occurrence of sandstone 

dikes and chalcedony veins in the White River Oligocene: 

Am. Jour. Sci., v. 5, p. 160-172.

Love, J. D., 1952, Preliminary report on uranium deposits in the Pumpkin Buttes area, Powder River 

Basin, Wyoming: U. S. Geol. Survey Circ. 176.

Newton, Henry, 1879, Topographical and geological 

atlas of the Black Hills of Dakota, in Newton, Henry, 

and Jenney, W. P., 1880, Geology and resources of 

the Black Hills of Dakota (U. S. Geographical and 

geological survey of the Rocky Mountain region, 

J. W. Powell in charge).

Osborn, H. F., 1929, The titanotheres of ancient Wyoming, Dakota, andNebraska: U. S. Geol. SurveyMon. 55.

Page, L. R., and Redden, J. A., 1952, The carnotite 

prospects of the Craven Canyon area, Fall River County, 

South Dakota: U. S. Geol. Survey Circ. 175.

Proctor, P. D., 1953, Geology of the Silver Reef 

mining district, Washington County, Utah: Utah Geol. 

and Mineralog. Survey Bull. 44.

Smith, K. G., 1952, Structure plan of clastic dikes: 

Am. Geophys. Union Trans., v. 33, p. 892.

Wanless, H. R., 1922, Lithology of the White River sediments: Am. Philos. Soc. Proc., v. 61, p. 184-203.

_______1923, The stratigraphy of the White River 

beds of South Dakota: Am. Philos. Soc. Proc., 

v. 62, p. 190-269.

Ward, Freeman, 1922, The geology of a portion of 

the Badlands: S. Dak. Geol. and Nat. History 

Survey Bull. 11.

INT.-DUP. SEC., WASH., D.C^j.,^
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 359 PLATE 1

R.I2E. R.I3E.

BADLANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT BOUNDARY

EXPLANATION

Chodron formation (Tc)

with channel sandstones

Pierre shale

Cs 

oc

z 

ac

QC

UJ

en 

o

LJ

o

UJ 

QC 

O

Geologic contact

Aoproximate boundaries

of channel sandstone in

the Chadron formation

Sample locality

r *

SOUTH DAKOTA

Pierre

Rapid City

__. Scenic

INDEX MAP

Geology by George W. Moore and Murray Levish,l953. 

Base from U.S. Geological Survey Sheep Mountain 

Table and Heutmacher Table quadrangles

R.I2E. R.I3E.

GEOLOGY OF PART OF THE WHITE RIVER BADLANDS, PENNINGTON COUNTY, SOUTH DAKOTA

IMile