DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

FRANKLIN K. LANE, Secretary

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, Director

Water-Supply Paper 399

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS OF 

NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS

LLOYD WILLIAM STEPHENSON

AND

ALBERT FOSTER CRIDER

WITH A DISCUSSION OF

THE CHEMICAL CHAEACTEE OF THE WATEES

BY

RICHARD B. DOLE

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1916

CONTENTS.

Page.

Introduction.............................................................. 13

Physiographic provinces of Arkansas.................................... 13

Acknowledgments.................................................... 14

Bibliography............................................................. 15

Physiography............................................................ 22

Classification of features................................................ 22

Coastal Plain uplands................................................. 22

Coastal Plain lowlands................................................ 25

Advance lowland................................................. 25

Mississippi lowland............................................... 28

Small mounds......................................................... 30

Geology.................................................................... 31

General composition and structure of the area.......................... 31

Paleozoic rocks....................................................... 32

Mesozoic and Cenozoic formations..................................... 34

Generalized section............................................... 34

Cretaceous system................................................. 34

Igneous intrusions of late Lower Cretaceous or early Upper Cretaceous age................................................. 34

Upper Cretaceous series........................................ 35

Character and distribution................................. 35

Nacatoch sand (?)........................................ 36

General features....................................... 36

Local details.......................................... 37

Independence County............................ 37

South of Independence County.................... 40

Correlation........................................... 41

Cretaceous strata penetrated in wells and excavations........ 42

Tertiary system..,................................................ 44

Distribution.................................................. 44

Eocene series................................................. 44

Formations differentiated................................. 44

Midway formation........................................ 45

General features....................................... 45

Local details.......................................... 48

Pulaski County................................... 48

Lonoke County.................................... 49

White County................................... 49

Jackson County................................... 51

Independence County............................ 53

Correlation........................................... 53

3
4 CONTENTS.

Geology Continued.

Mesozoic and Cenozoic formations Continued. 

Tertiary system Continued.

Eocene series Continued. Page.

Wilcox formation.......................................... 54

General features....................................... 54

Local details.......................................... 57

Missouri.......................................... 57

Clay County...................r................. 57

Greene County................................... 58

Craighead County................................. 60

Exposures of quartzite............................ 61

Poinsett County................................... 61

Correlation........................................... 63

Claiborne formation....................................... 63

General features....................................... 63

Local details.......................................... 67

Spencer Creek, Cross County....................... 68

Cherry Valley section, Cross County................ 68

Sections east of Wynne, Cross County.............. 70

Copperas Creek section, Cross County............... 71

Correlation........................................... 72

Jackson formation........................................ 73

General features....................................... 73

Local details.......................................... 75

St. Francis County................................ 76

Phillips County.................................. 78

Arkansas River localities.......................... 79

Correlation........................................... 82

Undifferentiated Eocene.................................. 84

Pliocene series................................................ 85

Lafayette formation....................................... 85

General features....................................... 85

Local details.......................................... 89

Clay County...................................... 89

Greene County................................... 90

Craighead County................................. 91

Poinsett County................................... 91

Cross County...................................... 92

St. Francis County................................ 93

Lee County....................................... 94

Phillips County................................... . 94

Western border of the Mississippi embayment....... 95

Correlation........................................... 97

Quaternary system................................................. 100

Pleistocene series............................................. 100

Loess.................................................... 100

Areal distribution..................................... 100

Stratigraphic position.................................. 101

Lithologic character................................... 101

Thickness.............................-..------------. 105

Physiographic expression............................... 105

Paleontologic character................................ 105
CONTENTS. 5

Geology Continued.

Mesozoic and Cenozoic formations Continued. 

Quaternary system Continued. 

Pleistocene series Continued.

Loess Continued. Page.

Local details.......................................... 106

Helena, PhillipsCounty............................ 106

Forrest City, St. Francis County................... 107

Wynne, Cross County.............................. 108

Jonesboro, Craighead County...................... 110

Greene County................................... 110

Clay County...................................... Ill

Western margin of the Mississippi embayment in Ar1 kansas......................................... Ill

Correlation........................................... 112

i Alluvium................................................ 114

General features....................................... 114

Local details.......................................... 116

Cloverbend, Lawrence County..................... 116

Old Grandglaise, Jackson County.................. 116

Colona, Woodruff County........................... 117

Augusta, Woodruff County......................... 117

Phillips County.................................... 118

Logs of wells...................................... 118

Correlation........................................... 120

Recent series.................................................. 121

Undifferentiated Quaternary alluvium.......................... 122

Geologic history...................................................... 123

Deposition of Paleozoic sediments.................................. 123

Post-Paleozoic erosion interval...................................... 123

Depression in Lower Cretaceous time................................ 123

Depression and deposition in Upper Cretaceous time.........-..-.-- 124

Uplift and erosion between the Cretaceous and Eocene ............... 124

Depression and deposition in Eocene time.......................... 124

Post-Eocene erosion................................................ 126

Deposition of the Lafayette formation............................... 126

Post-Lafayette erosion interval..................................... 127

Deposition of the loess............................................. 127

Erosion of the great troughs west and east of Crowleys Ridge and deposition of Pleistocene alluvium..................................... 129

Captures of Mississippi River by Ohio River........................ 131

Deposition of Recent alluvium...................................... 132

Late Pleistocene and Recent erosion............................... 132

Surface waters............................................................ 132

Streams............................................................... 132

Lakes and ponds...................................................... 133

Swamps............................................................... 133

Economic uses........................................................ 134

Ground waters............................................................. 134'

Source................................................................. 134

Disposal............................................................... 135

Quantity............................................................. 135

Stratigraphic distribution............................................... 136

Cretaceous deposits................................................. 136
6 CONTENTS.

Ground waters Continued.

Stratigraphic distribution Continued. Page.

Tertiary deposits................................................... 136

Eocene strata.................................................. 136

Lafayette formation (Pliocene ?)............................... 138

Quaternary deposits............................................... 138

Springs............................................................... 139

Nonartesian waters.................................................... 139

Definition and importance......................................... 139

Methods of development........................................... 139

Artesian waters........................................................ 140

Definition........................................................ 140

General conditions governing occurrence............................ 140

Conditions in the Advance lowland................................. 141

Conditions in the Mississippi lowland................................ 142

Economic uses........................................................ 143

General uses...................................................... 143

Bice culture...................................................... 144

History........................................................ 144

Production.................................................... 145

Outlook...................................................... 146

Water supply.................................................. 146

Soil........................................................... 147

Duty of water.................................................. 148

County descriptions........................................................ 149

Arkansas County....................................................... 149

Physiography...................................................... 149

Geology.......................................................... 150

Water resources.................................................... 150

General conditions.............................. '. ............. 150

Domestic supplies......................................... 150

Irrigation................................................. 150

Local supplies................................................. 151

Stuttgart.................................................. 151

Irrigation wells............................................. 152

- Clay County.......................................................... 160

Physiography...................................................... 160

Geology.......................................................... 161

Water resources.................................................... 162

General conditions............................................ 162

Local supplies................................................. 162

Source..................................................... 162

Well water for irrigation................................... 163

Well at Campbell, Mo..................................... 163

Craighead County..................................................... 166

Physiography...................................................... 166

Geology.......................................................... 167

Water resources.................................................... 168

General conditions............................................ 168

Domestic supplies......................................... 168

Irrigation................................................. 168

Local supplies................................................. 169

Jonesboro.................................................. 169

Nettleton................................................. 170
CONTENTS.

County descriptions Continued. 

Craighead County Continued. 

Water resources Continued. 

Local supplies Continued.

Greensboro.......................

Lake City........................

Wells for irrigation...............

Crittenden County...........................

Physiography.............................

Geology.................................

Water resources...........................

General conditions...................

Local supplies........................

Earl..............................

TurrelL..........................

Wells at and near Memphis, Tenn. 

Cross County.................................

Physiography...........................

Geology.................................

Water resources.........................

General conditions...................

Domestic supplies................

Irrigation........................

Local supplies........................

Wynne..........................

Parkin...........................

Vanndale........................

Five miles east of Cherry Valley.. 

Fairoaks.........................

Wells for irrigation...............

Greene County................................

Physiography...........................

Geology.................................

Water resources.........................

General conditions...................

Local supplies........................

Paragould........................

Rural supplies..................

Independence County.......................

Physiography...........................

Geology..................................

Water resources.........................

General conditions...................

Local supplies........................

Jackson County..............................

Physiography. ..........................

Geology.................................

Water resources.........................

General conditions...................

Local supplies........................

Jefferson County............................

Physiography...........................

Geology.................................

Page. 

170 

170 

170 

174 

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180

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186

186

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188

188

188

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189

192

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193

194

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196

196

196

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198
8 CONTENTS.

County descriptions Continued.

Jefferson County Continued. Page.

Water resources.................................................. 198

Domestic supplies............................................ 198

Wells for irrigation............................................ 198

Lawrence County..................................................... 202

Physiography.................................................... 202

Geology.......................................................... 202

Water resources.................................................. 203

General conditions............................................ 203

Local supplies................................................. 204

Walnut Ridge............................................. 204

Alicia................................................... 204

Black Rock.............................................. 204

Lynn..................................................... 204

Wells for irrigation........................................ 205

Lee County........................................................... 208

Physiography.................................................... 208

Geology.......................................................... 209

Water resources.................................................. 209

General conditions........................................... 209

Local supplies................................................. 210

Marianna................................................. 210

Lagrange................................................. 211

Wells for irrigation........................................ 211

Lonoke County........................................................ 214

Physiography.................................................... 214

Geology.......................................................... 214

Water resources.................................................. 215

General conditions............................................ 215

Ordinary supplies......................................... 215

Irrigation................................................. 215

Local supplies-................................................ 216

Lonoke................................................... 216

Holland................................................. 216

Cabot....................... .'. ............................ 217

Wells for irrigation........................................ 218

Mississippi County.................................................... 224

Physiography.................................................... 224

Geology.......................................................... 224

Water resources.................................................. 225

General conditions............................................ 225

Local supplies................................................. 225

Osceola.................................................. 225

Blytheville............................................... 225

Luxora.................................... ...........-. 226

Burdette.................................................. 226

Wilson.................................................... 226

Ashport Bend, Mississippi River............................ 226

Monroe County....................................................... 229

Physiography.................................................... 229

Geology.......................................................... 229
CONTENTS. 9

County descriptions Continued.

Monroe County Continued. Page.

Water resources.................................................. 230

General conditions............................................ 230

Local supplies................................................. 230

Brinkley.................................................. 230

Wells for irrigation........................................ 231

Phillips County...................................................... 234

Physiography.................................................... 234

Geology.......................................................... 235

Water resources.................................................. 236

General conditions............................................ 236

Local supplies................................................. 236

Helena.................................................... 236

Barton.................................................... 239

Southland............................................... 239

Poinsett County....................................................... 242

Physiography.................................................... 242

Geology-......................................................... 243

Water resources.................................................. 243

General conditions............................................ 243

Ordinary supplies......................................... 243

Irrigation... .. .--i.......................................... 244

Local supplies................................................. 244

Harrisburg............................................... 244

Marked Tree.............................................. 245

Weiner................................................... 246

Wells for irrigation........................................ 246

Prairie County....................................................... 250

Physiography.................................................... 250

Geology.......................................................... 250

Water resources.................................................. 251

General conditions............................................ 251

Ordinary supplies......................................... 251

Irrigation................................................. 251

Local supplies................................................. 252

Hazen................................................... 252

Des Arc.................................................. 252

Wells for irrigation........................................ 252

Pulaski County.......i............................................... 256

Physiography.................................................... 256

Geology.......................................................... 256

Water resources.................................................. 257

General conditions............................................ 257

Local supplies................................................. 257

Little Rock............................................... 257

Argenta................................................... 258

Jacksonville-............................................. 259

Randolph County..................................................... 261

Physiography.................................................... 261

Geology.......................................................... 261

Water resources.................................................. 262
10 CONTENTS.

County descriptions Continued. Page.

St. Francis County.................................................... 262

Physiography.................................................... 262

Geology.......................................................... 263

Water resources.................................................. 264

General conditions............................................ 264

Ordinary supplies......................................... 264

Irrigation................................................. 265

Local supplies................................................. 265

Forrest City.............................................. 265

Wells for irrigation........................................ 265

White County....................................................... 270

Physiography.................................................... 270

Geology.......................................................... 270

Water resources. ...................... 1.......................... 271

General conditions............................................ 271

Local supplies............................................... 272

Bald Knob.............................................. 272

Higginson............................................... 272

Woodruff County..................................................... 275

Physiography.................................................... 275

Geology.......................................................... 275

Water resources.................................................. 276

General conditions............................................ 276

Local supplies............................................... 276

Augusta................................................. 276

Cotton Plant............................................. 276

Wells for irrigation........................................ 277

Chemical character of the waters of northeastern Arkansas, by R. B. Dole .... 281

Standards of classification............................................. 281

Mineral constituents of water..................................... 281

Water for boiler use.............................................. 281

Formation of scale........................................... 281

Corrosion.................................................... 282

Foaming.................................................... 282

Remedies for boiler troubles. ................................. 283

Boiler compounds............................................ 283

Numerical standards.......................................... 284

Water for irrigation................................................ 287

Relation between applied water and soils ...................... 287

Numerical standards.......................................... 287

Water for domestic use............................................ 289

Physical qualities............................................. 289

Bacteriological qualities...................................... 290

Chemical qualities. .......................................... 290

Purification of water................................................. 292

General requirements............................................ 292

Methods of purification. ........................................... 292

Slow sand filtration.............................................. 293

Rapid sand filtration.............................................. 294

Cold-water softening.............................................. 295

Feed-water heating............................................... 296

Surface waters........................................................ 298
CONTENTS. 11

Chemical character of the waters, by R. B. Dole Continued. Page.

Ground waters....................................................... 302

Chemical analyses................................................ 302

Field assays...................................................... 304 * i

Quality in relation to water-bearing stratum........................ 305

Quaternary alluvium.......................................... 305

Cretaceous and T< jrtiary formations ............................ 308

Quality in relation to 

Quality in relation to 

Economic value.....

Index

geographic position........................... 308

depth....................................... 309

........................................... 309

.......................................... 311

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page.

PLATE I. A, Prairie phase of the Advance lowland, a quarter of a mile northeast of Obear, Craighead County; B, Low circular mound at Bald 

Knob........................................................ 26

II. Preliminary geologic map of the Gulf Coastal Plain of eastern and

northeastern Arkansas........................................ 30

III. Geologic cross sections.......................................... 32

IV. Geologic cross sections.......................................... 34

V. A, Pebbly limestone with interbedded layers of calcareous sand 

belonging to the Midway formation, on St. Louis, Iron Mountain 

& Southern Railway a quarter of a mile south of Grandglaise, 

Jackson County; B, Sands, clays, and lignites of the Wilcox formation on Bolivar Creek near its point of emergence from Crowleys 

Ridge, 3J miles north of Harrisburg, Poinsett County............ 52

VI. A, Sands and clays of the Claiborne formation three-fourths of a mile 

southeast of Cherry Valley, Cross County; B, Leaf-bearing concretions of iron carbonate in clay of the Claiborne formation at the 

lower end of the bluff shown in Plate VI, A. .................... 68

VII. A, Fossiliferous clay of the Jackson formation overlain in ascending 

order by unfossiliferous sands and clays of this same formation, the 

Lafayette formation, and the loess, on Little Crow Creek 3 miles 

east of Forrest City, St. Francis County; B, Near view of the base 

of the bluff on Little Crow Creek shown in Plate VII, A. ........ 76

VIII. A, Gravel of the Lafayette formation exposed in the west slope of 

Crowleys Ridge near Colt, St. Francis County; B, Gravel of the 

Lafayette formation exposed in a pit of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway 2 miles west of Newark, Independence 

County...................................................... 88

I.. A, Loess exposed in a gully on the eastward-facing slope of Crowleys 

Ridge near Helena, Phillips County; B, Unconformable contact 

between the Lafayette formation and the loess in a gully near a 

small spring at the foot of Crowleys Ridge a quarter of a mile 

south of the Big Spring and 2J miles north of Helena............. 102

X. A, "Old soil" zone in loess on southward-facing side of cut of St. 

Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway 1J miles east of Wynne, 

Cross County; B, Loess exposed in a cut of the Chicago, Rock 

Island & Pacific Railway through Crowleys Ridge a quarter of a 

mile east of Forrest City, St. Francis County................... 108

XI. Map of the ground-water resources of eastern and northeastern

Arkansas..................................................... 134
12 CONTENTS.

FIGURE 1. Sketch to show the relations of formations exposed in^a bluff on a

small creek 3 miles east of Wynne, Cross County............... 71

2. Sketch to show the successive positions of oyster beds as deposition 

continued, as revealed in the base of the bluff on Little Crow 

Creek 3 miles east of Forrest City, St. Francis County.......... 77

3. Section to illustrate artesian and nonartesian conditions in the

Advance lowland west of Crowleys Ridge...................... 142

4. Generalized section to explain the cause of artesian flows in the

Mississippi lowland........................................... 143

INSEETS.

Chemical composition of water from wells in eastern and northeastern Arkansas. 302 

Field assays of ground waters of eastern and northeastern Arkansas............ 304
GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS OF NORTHEASTERN

ARKANSAS.

By LLOYD WILLIAM STEPHENSON and ALBERT FOSTER CRIDER.

INTRODUCTION.

PHYSIOGRAPHIC PROVINCES OF ARKANSAS.

Arkansas is divisible into two physiographic provinces. The area 

northwest of a line running from the northeastern corner of Randolph 

County southwestward through Powhatan, Searcy, and Little Rock, 

to near Arkadelphia, Clark County, and thence westward, is included 

in the division known as the Ozark province and embraces approximately 25,000 square miles. The rest of the State is included in the 

Gulf Coastal Plain, the area of which is approximately 27,500 square 

miles. More than half of the Gulf Coastal Plain falls within the 

physiographic division known as the Mississippi embayment, a broad 

arm which extends from the main plain up the valley of Mississippi 

River to the southern part of Illinois, a distance of approximately 

250 miles. The Ozark province is separated from the Gulf Coastal 

Plain by an escarpment which in most places is well defined.

The Ozark province in this State is hilly to mountainous and lies 

400 to 2,100 feet above sea level. North of Arkansas River the surface 

is a deeply dissected plateau, 500 to 1,500 feet above sea level, broken 

by one east-west ridge known as Boston Mountain, which rises to a 

maximum of about 2,000 feet above sea level. The part of the province south of Arkansas River is known as the Ouachita Mountains 

and consists of a series of ridges trending in a general east-west 

direction and rising 500 to 2,100 feet above sea level.

The Ozark province in Arkansas is drained chiefly by Spring, 

White, Arkansas, and Ouachita rivers, all of which flow in southeastward courses to or beyond its border.

The province is underlain by Paleozoic sedimentary rocks consisting 

of limestones, sandstones, and shales belonging to the Ordovician, 

Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous systems. In the plateau 

region north of Arkansas River these rocks lie nearly horizontal; in 

the region of Arkansas River valley, between Boston Mountain on 

the north and the Ouachita Mountains on the south, the strata are

13
14 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

broadly folded; in the Ouachita Mountains south of Arkansas River 

the rocks are strongly folded into east-west synclines and anticlines.

In Arkansas the Gulf Coastal Plain ranges in elevation from 100 to 

650 feet above sea level, and is divisible topographically into a 

series of interstream uplands in various stages of dissection, ranging 

in elevation from 200 to 650 feet above sea level, and a series of 

nearly level to gently rolling lowlands lying 100 to 300 feet above 

the same datum plane. A slight general slope southward characterizes both the uplands and the lowlands. The drainage of this part 

of the Gulf Coastal Plain reaches the Mississippi through numerous 

tributaries, the largest of which are St. Francis, White, Arkansas, 

Ouachita, and Red rivers.

The uplands are composed mainly of unconsolidated clays, loams, 

marls, sands, and gravels of Cretaceous and Tertiary age. The 

Cretaceous deposits outcrop in an east-west belt, 15 to 30 miles wide, 

lying south of the Ozark province and west of Ouachita River, both 

the Lower and Upper Cretaceous series being represented. Beds of 

Cretaceous age also lie buried beneath Tertiary strata in the vicinity 

of Little Rock and northeast of Little Rock in Lonoke and White 

counties, and Cretaceous strata come to the surface in the Grandglaise terrace in the vicinity of Newark, Independence County.

Except in the areas mentioned, the soils in the Gulf Coastal Plain 

uplands are immediately underlain by strata of Tertiary age belonging to the Midway, Wilcox, Claiborne, and Jackson formations of 

the Eocene^ and the Lafayette formation of the Pliocene (?). Locally 

the Tertiary strata in the uplands are overlain and concealed by deposits of late Pleistocene age, principally consisting of loess, sands, 

and gravels. The loess occurs on Crowleys Ridge in the northeastern 

part of the State. The soils in the lowlands are immediately underlain by alluvial deposits which consist of silts, loams, clays, sands, 

and gravels of Pleistocene and Recent age, which rest unconformably 

upon Cretaceous and Tertiary strata.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

The field investigations on which the report is largely based were 

made by the authors jointly during May and June, 1905, under the 

direction of M. L. Fuller, supervising geologist in charge of Coastal 

Plain investigations, and by the senior author under the direction of 

T. Wayland Vaughan, geologist in charge of Coastal Plain investigations, during October, 1910, and half of September, 1912.

The field studies have been supplemented by much information relating to the ground-water resources of the area, obtained by correspondence with municipal authorities, postmasters, and well owners. 

The authors desire to acknowledge their indebtedness to the follow-
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 15

ing persons for important contributions to the hitherto unpublished 

scientific results presented:

Mr. T. Wayland Vaughan, who collected and identified the invertebrate fossils from Little Crow Creek, east of Forrest City.

Mr. E. W. Berry, who, in company with the senior author, collected fossil plants from several localities in Crowleys Ridge, identified the fossil plant species listed in the report, and determined the 

Wilcox and Claiborne age of plant-bearing beds in Crowleys Eidge 

north of St. Francis County.

Dr. Paul Bartsch, who identified the loess fossils from several localities on Crowleys Eidge in St. Francis and Phillips counties.

Mr. E. Wesley Shaw, who made petrographic studies of specimens 

of loess from various localities in the area, and who offered valuable 

suggestions regarding the geologic history of the late Tertiary and 

Quaternary deposits.

Grateful acknowledgments are also extended to the many citizens 

who furnished valuable information regarding the ground-water 

resources of the area, especially to Mr. E. G. Norton, of Brinkley, 

who contributed data relating to wells in Monroe, St. Francis, and 

other counties, and to Mr. W. H. Fuller, of Lonoke, who furnished an 

account of the early history of the rice industry.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

The following list of papers does not form a complete bibliography 

of the literature relating to the geology and water resources of northeastern Arkansas and adjacent areas; it contains, however, most of 

the important contributions and many of the less important ones, 

some of which are included because of their historic interest:

1809.

MACLUBE, WILLIAM, Observations on the geology of the United States, explanatory of a geological map: Am. Philos. Soc. Trans., vol. 6, pt. 2, pp. 411-428 

and map.

1817.

MACLUBE, WILLIAM, Observations on the geology of the United States of America, 

with some remarks on the effect produced on the nature and fertility of 

soils by the decomposition of the different classes of rock: Am. Philos. 

Soc. Trans., new ser., vol. 1, 127 pp. and map.

1821.

NUTTALL, THOMAS, Observations on the geological structure of the valley of the 

Mississippi: Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia Jour., vol. 2, pt. 1, pp. 14-52 (esp. 

pp. 33-48).
16 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

1835.

FEATHEESTONHAUGH, G. W., Geological report of an examination made in 1834 

of the elevated country between the Missouri and Red rivers: Published 

by order of both Houses of Congress as House Doc. No. 151, 23d Cong., 

2d sess., Washington, pp. 39-86.

1853.

MAECOU, JULES, A geological map of the United States and the British Provinces 

of North America, Boston.

1854.

WAEDEE, JOHN A., A geological reconnaissance of the Arkansas River, 27 pp., 

Cleveland.

1858.

MAECOU, JULES, Geology of North America, with two reports on the prairies of 

Arkansas and Texas, the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico, and the Sierra 

Nevada of California: 144 pp., 9 pis., Zurich.

OWEN, DAVID DALE, First report of a geological reconnaissance of the northern 

counties of Arkansas, pp. 1-191, 10 pis. (esp. pp. 19-^1), Little Rock.

Includes notes on the following counties: Greene (now in part Clay 

County), Poinsett (now in part Cross County), Jackson, Independence, 

and White (pp. 19-41). Owen correlates the unconsolidated deposits of 

Crowleys Ridge in northern Arkansas, including those of both Eocene and 

Pleistocene age, with the Quaternary; the hard Eocene quartzites he referred erroneously to the Potsdam sandstone (Cambrian).

Cox, EDWARD T., First report of a geological reconnaissance of a part of the 

State of Arkansas: pp. 193-256, Little Rock.

1860.

OWEN, DAVID DALE, Second report of a geological reconnaissance of the middle 

and southern counties of Arkansas: pp. 1-153, 7 pis. (esp. pp. 146-153), 

Philadelphia.

Describes surface features, the soils, and certain geological features 

of portions of Arkansas, Jefferson, Crittenden, Mississippi, Craighead, 

and Phillips counties. Owen recognized the Eocene age of the fossiliferous marls exposed on Little Crow Creek east of Forrest City.

1861.

HT/MPHEEYS, A. A., and ABBOT, H. L., Report upon the physics and hydraulics of 

the Mississippi River: 456 pp., appendices pp. i-cxlvi, 20 pis., Philadelphia.

Contains much information pertaining to the physiography of the valley 

of Mississippi River and its main tributaries, and considerable data on 

the composition of the immediate river banks.

1872.

HILGAED, E. W., On the geological history of the Gulf of Mexico: Am. Assoc. Adv. 

Sci. Proc., vol. 20, pp. 222-236.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 17

The first systematic account of the geology and geological history of 

the Gulf ernbayment region. The paper includes a black-and-white sketch 

map showing the distribution of the Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Quaternary 

formations.

SMITH, EUGENE A., Remarks on the geology of the Mississippi Bottom: Am. 

Assoc. Adv. Sci. Proc., vol. 20, pp. 252-261.

1880.

WHITE, C. A., Descriptions of new invertebrate fossils from the Mesozoic and 

Cenozoic rocks of Arkansas, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah: U. S. Nat. 

Mus. Proc., vol. 3, pp. 157-162 (esp. p. 161).

1881.

WHITE, C. A., On certain Cretaceous fossils from Arkansas and Colorado: U. S. 

Nat. Mus. Proc., vol. 4, pp. 136-139 (esp. p. 137).

WILSON, E. H., Report on the results of borings at Memphis, Tenn., Helena, Ark., 

Arkansas City, Ark., Greenville, Miss., and Lake Providence, La., with 

data pertaining to similar work previously executed: U. S. Mississippi 

River Com. Progress Report, 47th Cong., 1st sess., S. Ex. Doc. No. 10, 

Appendix J and Ji, pp. 139-257.

Contains much information on the character of the alluvial deposits of 

Mississippi River (esp. pp. 139-239).

1884.

HILGAED, E. W., and HOPKINS, F. V., Report upon the examination of specimens 

from borings on the Mississippi River between Memphis and Vicksburg: 

U. S. Mississippi River Com. Progress Report, 48th Cong., 1st sess., H. 

Ex. Doc. No. 37, Appendix N, pp. 479-497.

Hilgard's conclusions are in accordance with the views of the present 

writers as regards the major structural features of the valley, but differ 

from them in respect to certain interpretations of age and geologic history ; it is believed, for instance, that a large part of the erosion which 

excavated the valley to the level of the base of the Quaternary alluvial 

deposits and much of the subsequent filling of the valley to the present 

surface level have taken place since the deposition of the loess and not 

prior to that time, as stated by Hilgard.

HEILPRIN, ANGELO, Contributions to the Tertiary geology and paleontology of the 

United States, p. 37. Published by the author, Philadelphia.

WHITE, C. A., On Mesozoic fossils: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 4, pp. 16-17, pis. 7, 

8, 9.

1886.

TEALE, A. C., Mineral springs of the United States: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 32, 

pp. 118-122.

1888.

HILL, R. T., Neozoic geology of southwestern Arkansas: Arkansas Geol. Survey 

ann. Rept, vol. 2, pt. 1, pp. 1-189.

Hill described the general physiographic, geologic, and structural features of the State, and showed that the major divisions recognizable on 

the basis of natural phenomena form parts of great provinces which are 

more broadly developed outside of Arkansas.

11674° WSP 399 16 2
18 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

1891.

CHAMBEBLIN, T. C., and SALISBTJBY, R. D., On the relationship of the Pleistocene 

to the pre-Pleistocene formations of the Mississippi Basin south of the 

limit of glaciation: Am. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 41, pp. 359-377.

Contains references to the gravel and loess deposits capping Crowleys 

Ridge. The gravels they believe to be of pre-Pleistocene age and separated from the overlying loess by an erosion unconformity. In terms of 

the accepted classification of that time, the loess is correlated with the 

first glacial epoch. On the evidence of an apparent soil zone in the body 

of the loess, observed at Forrest City and elsewhere in the ridge, the 

loess is subdivided; the part below the soil zone is referred to the first 

episode of the first glacial epoch and the part above the soil zone to the 

second episode of the first glacial epoch. The alluvial filling of the 

Mississippi Valley is referred in time to the second glacial epoch.

McGEE, W J, The Lafayette formation: U. S. Geol. Survey Twelfth Ann. Rept, 

pt. 1, pp. 347-521 (esp. pp. 470, 471).

CALL, R. ELLSWOBTH, The geology of Crowleys Ridge: Arkansas Geol. Survey 

Ann. Rept. for 1889, vol. 2, pp. 1-223.

Includes a general description of the ridge and detailed descriptions of 

many geologic sections and other natural features. A map showing the 

geographic position of the ridge accompanies the report. St. Francis 

County is given special attention in a chapter entitled " Report on St. 

Francis County" (pp. 143-183), accompanied by a topographic and 

geologic map of a part of the county on a scale of 4 miles to the inch, 

with a contour interval of 10 feet. Supplementary to the report are 

descriptions of geologic sections on Arkansas River in White, Woodruff, 

Lonoke, and Prairie counties, and at Memphis, Tenn.

Call recognizes the Tertiary age of the strata composing the core of 

Crowleys Ridge, but he does not differentiate the Wilcox, Claiborne, and 

Jackson formations, which outcrop in succession from the northern to 

the southern end of the ridge. Although he recognizes the fact that the 

main body of the gravels is younger than the underlying sands and clays, 

he does not clearly distinguish between the Eocene strata and the overlying Lafayette formation. The loess capping the ridge he correlates 

correctly with the Pleistocene.

BEANNEE, J. C. In the preface to vol. 2 of the Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. 

Rept. for 1889, pp. xi-xvi.

Branner gives a brief account of the origin of Crowleys Ridge and 

describes the depression which brought into existence the conditions 

necessary to the deposition of the Tertiary (Eocene) deposits of the 

embayment. He recognizes that at a later time the Mississippi River 

followed a course west of Crowleys Ridge and that through its agency 

the great lowland between the ridge and the Ozark province was eroded 

out and partially refilled; he states that Ohio River, following a course 

southward east of the ridge, was accomplishing similar results in the 

area now known as the Mississippi lowland; the junction of the two 

streams was somewhere south of Helena. Crowleys Ridge is correctly 

interpreted to be an erosion remnant which separates these two great 

valleys.
BIBLIOGKAPHY. 19

SALISBUKY, R. D., On the relationship of the Pleistocene to the pre-Pleistocene 

formations of Crowleys Ridge and adjacent areas south of the limit of 

glaciation: Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. Rept. for 1889, vol. 2, pp. 

224-248.

This paper is essentially a restatement of the views expressed by Chamberlin and Salisbury in a paper to which reference has already been 

made (Am. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 41, pp. 359-377).

KNOWLTON, P. H., Description of fossil woods and lignites from Arkansas: 

Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. Rept. for 1889, vol. 2, pp. 249-267.

The author describes eight specimens of lignite from the Eocene strata 

of Crowleys Ridge and describes and figures four species of silicified.wood 

from the gravels of Crowleys Ridge, which the collector, Mr. Call, believes 

to have been originally derived mechanically from the underlying Eocene.

WILLIAMS, J. FRANCIS, The igneous rocks of Arkansas: Arkansas Geol. Survey 

Ann. Rept. for 1890, vol. 2, 457 pp., maps, and plates.

1894.

BBANNEE, J. O., Elevations in the State of Arkansas: Arkansas Geol. Survey 

Ann. Rept. for 1892, vol. 2, pp. 77-114.

HABBIS, GILBEBT D., The Tertiary geology of southern Arkansas: Arkansas Geol. 

Survey Ann. Rept. for 1892, vol. 2, esp. pp. 10-15.

Shows the existence of strata of Midway Eocene age along the western 

border of the Gulf Coastal Plain in White, Lonoke, and Pulaski counties. 

The correlation is based on the evidence afforded by invertebrate fossils. 

The Midway is underlain in the same counties by strata of Upper Cretaceous age, correlated on the evidence of invertebrate fossils taken- from 

wells and identified by T. W. Stanton, of the U. S. Geological Survey; 

the Cretaceous was not positively identified in surface outcrops in these 

counties.

1897.

BBANNEB, J. C., The former extension of the Appalachians across Mississippi, 

Louisiana, and Texas: Am. Jour. Sci., 4th ser., vol. 4, pp. 357-391.

1902.

HABBIS, GILBEBT D., The geology of the Mississippi embayment with especial reference to the State of Louisiana: Louisiana Geol. Survey, pt. 6, pp. 1-39.

DABTON, N. H., Preliminary list of deep borings in the United States: U. S. Geol. 

Survey Water-Supply Paper 57, p. 12.

BOND, FBANK, and KEENEY, GEO. H.,.Irrigation of rice in the United States: 

U. S. Dept. Agriculture Bull. 113, pp. 1-77.

MABBUT, C. F., The evolution of the northern part of the lowlands of southeastern Missouri: Missouri Univ. Studies, vol. 1, No. 3, 63 pp., 3 pis.

Describes the main drainage events of the embayment area in southeastern Missouri and many of the lesser phenomena. Marbut states 

that Mississippi River in the early part of the second glacial epoch flowed 

from Cape Girardeau southwestward, west of Benton Ridge and Crowleys Ridge; Ohio River flowed southward, east of these ridges, and 

joined the Mississippi south of the southern extremity of Crowleys Ridge 

in Arkansas. The lowland produced by the erosion of Mississippi River 

he designated the Advance lowland, from the village of Advance, situated 

upon the lowland in Stoddard County, Mo.
20 GEOLOGY AND GKOUND WATEKS, NOKTHEASTEKN AKKANSAS.

After the main features of the Advance lowland had been fashioned by 

Mississippi River the stream was captured by Ohio River; first, at the 

point now marked by the gap separating the northern extremity of Crowleys Ridge from the southern extremity of Benton Ridge; and, second, 

at the point now occupied by the Mississippi between Grays Point and 

Commerce, Scott County, Mo. The lowland produced by the erosion of 

Ohio River and by the combined erosion of the Ohio and Mississippi, after 

the capture of the latter stream, was designated by Marbut the " Cairo 

lowland," which he subdivided into the Charleston lowland, Sikeston 

Ridge, and the Morehouse lowland.

The author discusses at considerable length the manner in which these 

great feats were accomplished, and also the details of many minor incidents connected with the major processes. The paper is accompanied by 

a topographic map on a scale of approximately 3 miles to the inch with 

a 20-foot contour interval (Plate VI) and a black and white geologic map 

on the same base (Plate VII).

1903.

LAPHAM, J. E., Soil survey of the Stuttgart area, Arkansas: U. S. Dept. Agr. 

Bur. Soils Field Operations, 1903, pp. 611-622.

1904.

FULLER, M. L., Rice irrigation in southern Louisiana: U. S. Geol. Survey WaterSupply Paper 101, pp. 82-94.

PTJBDUE, A. H., Arkansas (well and spring records) : U. S. Geol. Survey WaterSupply Paper 102, pp. 374-388.

SHIMEK, BOHUMIL, Papers on the loess: Iowa State Univ. Lab. Nat. Hist. Bull., 

vol. 5, pp. 298-381.

1905.

PUBDUE, A. H., Northern Arkansas (water resources) : U. S. Geol. Survey

Water-Supply Paper 114, pp. 188-197. 

 Water resources of the contact region between the Paleozoic and

Mississippi embayment deposits in northern Arkansas: U. S. Geol. Survey

Water-Supply Paper 145, pp. 89-119. 

Describes in a general way the topography, geology, and water resources

of the area; but few detailed sections are given. A black and white

geologic map on a small scale (Plates II and III) accompanies the report.

1906.

VEATCH, A. C., Geology and underground water resources of northern Louisiana 

and southern Arkansas: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 46, 389 pp., 51 

pis., 33 figs.

GLENN, L. C., Underground waters of Tennessee and Kentucky west of Tennessee River and of an adjacent area in Illinois: U. S. Geol. Survey WaterSupply Paper 164, 173 pp., 7 pis., 13 figs.

CEIDEE, A. F., Geology and mineral resources of Mississippi: U. S. Geol. Survey 

Bull. 283, 91 pp., 14 pis., 5 figs.

1907.

CAKTEB, WILLIAM T., Jr.; MEEKEE, F. N.; SMITH, HOWAED C.; and WOETHEN, 

E. L., Soil survey of Prairie County, Ark.: U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur, Soils 

Field Operations, 1906, pp. 1-36,
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 21

SHEPABD, EDW. M., Underground waters of Missouri: TJ. S. Geol. Survey WaterSupply Paper 195, 224 pp., 6 pis., 6 figs.

1908.

BBANNEB, J. O., The clays of Arkansas: TJ. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 351, 247 pp., 

1 pi., 20 figs.

Includes a general account of the topography and geology of the State, 

a geologic map on a small scale (Plate I), an account of the general 

stratigraphic distribution of the clays, and a detailed account of the 

distribution of the clays by counties. The descriptions of the counties of 

the northeastern part of the State includes for each county a brief statement of the physiography and geology, and in many cases well logs and 

detailed descriptions of localities.

1911.

ASHLEY, GEOBGE H., Recent drilling for oil and gas at Memphis: Preliminary 

report upon the oil and gas development in Tennessee: Tennessee State 

Geol. Survey Bull. 2, extract (e) Appendix A, pp. 40-46.

1912.

FULLEB, M. L., The New Madrid earthquake: TJ. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 494, 110 

pp., 10 pis., 18 figs.

Includes a compilation of the known facts regarding the phenomena 

accompanying and resulting from the earthquake, gathered from many 

sources, and the results of several season's work by the author in the 

area. From the available data he makes deductions regarding the origin 

and cause of the earth movement, and concludes that the ultimate cause 

was a disturbance in the consolidated basement rocks underlying the 

deposits of the Gulf Coastal Plain. A map which shows the distribution 

of the various recognizable effects of the earthquake, such as sunk lands, 

areas of fissuring, areas of sand blows, and areas of landslides, accompanies the paper.

MUNN, M. J., Exploration for natural gas and oil at Memphis, Tenn.: The 

resources of Tennessee, vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 48-68, Tennessee Geol. Survey.

VAUGHAN, T. W., [Eocene and Oligocene of] south Atlantic and eastern Gulf 

Coastal Plain and north end of Mississippi embayment: IT. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 71, pp. 731-745.

[Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene of] south Atlantic and eastern 

Gulf Coastal Plain and north end of Mississippi embayment: Idem, pp. 

806-813.

[Eocene and Oligocene of] Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas: Idem, pp. 

723-728.

[Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene of] Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas : Idem, pp. 804-806.

1913.

SHIMEK, BOHTJMIL, The significance of Pleistocene mollusks: Science, new ser., 

vol. 37, pp. 501-509.

1914.

MISEB, H. D., New areas of diamond-bearing peridotite in Arkansas: TJ. S. Geol. 

Survey Bull. 540, pp. 534-546.

Discusses the age of the igneous rocks of southwest Arkansas, which 

he shows were intruded during the period represented by the uncon-
22 GEOLOGY AND GEOUND WATERS, NORTHEASTEEN ARKANSAS.

formity separating the Trinity formation (Lower Cretaceous) and the 

Bingen sand (Upper Cretaceous).

1915.

BEBEY, E. W., Erosion intervals in the Eocene of the Mississippi embayment: 

U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 95, pp. 73-82 (Prof. Paper 95-F).

 The Mississippi River bluffs at Columbus and Hickman, Ky., and their 

fossil flora: U. S. Nat. Mus. Proc., vol. 48, pp. 293-303, pis. 12, 13.

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

CLASSIFICATION OF FEATURES.

The area covered in this report is included within the broad northward-extending arm of the Gulf Coastal Plain known as the Mississippi embayment and embraces approximately 13,250 square miles, 

extending from Mississippi River westward to the border of the 

Ozark province and from the Missouri State boundary southward to 

Arkansas River. The embayment may be subdivided into uplands 

and lowlands.

Probably more than nine-tenths of the area treated in this report 

presents a lowland type of topography and is embraced within the 

two physiographic divisions of the Mississippi embayment designated 

the Advance lowland and the Mississippi lowland.

The Ozark province, a rugged, hilly area lying 400 to 1,500 feet 

above sea level, borders the Gulf Coastal Plain on the northwest. 

This higher land is separated from the Coastal Plain by an escarpment, which at most places is sharply defined.

COASTAL PLAIN UPLANDS.

Southwest of Arkansas River. Between Arkansas and Ouachita 

rivers is an extensive, partly dissected upland, the elevation of which 

is 200 to 500 feet above sea level. This upland is terminated on the 

northeast by a more or less clearly defined escarpment, which overlooks the Advance lowland and marks its southwest boundary. The 

difference in elevation between the upland and the Advance lowland 

is 150 to 250 feet.

Crowleys Ridge. Crowleys Ridge is a belt of upland which, with 

certain important interruptions, extends from Stoddard County, 

Mo., where the maximum width is 18 miles, southwestward through 

Clay County, Ark., to Craighead County, Ark., and thence southward 

to Helena, Phillips County. In Phillips County the crest of the 

ridge is about 400 feet above sea level; the elevation gradually increases northward to 500 feet above sea level in Clay County, and to 

a maximum of 600 feet in Stoddard County, Mo. The elevation of
PHYSIOGRAPHY. . 23

the crest above the lowlands to the east and west ranges from 100 

to 260 feet, the greatest difference being in Stoddard County, Mo.

In Arkansas the ridge varies in width from one-half mile to 12 

miles; the broadest part of the belt is in Craighead and Greene 

counties, where the width is 8 to 12 miles, and the narrowest part is 

near Dee, in Craighead County, where there is a low gap, through 

which the Helena branch of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern 

Railway passes. The ridge has been completely cut at three places; 

one gap, in Stoddard County, Mo., is occupied by Castor River; 

another, on the border between Clay County, Ark., and New Madrid 

County, Mo., serves as the passageway of St. Francis River from 

the Advance lowland to the Mississippi lowland; the third, in Lee 

County, Ark., is several miles wide and is occupied by L'Anguille 

River.

The surface of the ridge is dissected by numerous small perennial 

and intermittent streams, most of which flow either to the east or to 

the west at right angles to the trend of the ridge; at many places 

the topography is rugged, but elsewhere erosion has passed beyond 

the stage of maturity, and the hills present smoothly rounded, gentle 

slopes. Several of the larger streams flow through relatively broad, 

shallow valleys.

The ridge is sharply separated from the adjoining lowlands by 

escarpments of varying degrees of steepness. At many places in 

Cross, St. Francis, Lee, and Phillips counties the east-facing slope 

is an abrupt bluff; in Craighead, Greene, and Clay counties the westfacing slope is relatively steep. The broader valleys and the more 

gently rounded hills have been cleared for cultivation, but the greater 

part of the area is covered with timber.

Benton Ridge (in Missouri}. Benton Ridge, in Scott County, is 

a northeastward extension of Crowleys Ridge, but is separated from 

it by a gap 10 miles wide; Benton Ridge terminates near Commerce 

just west of Mississippi River.

Grandglaise terrace. Bordering the Ozark province and extending with certain interruptions from the northeastern part of White 

County through Independence County to the southern part of 

Lawrence County, is a narrow, more or less clearly defined bench, 

here designated the Grandglaise terrace, which lies 250 to 325 or 350 

feet above sea level, and from 40 to 100 or 125 feet above the Advance 

lowland on the east. This terrace has been dissected by numerous 

streams crossing it from the Ozark province to the Advance lowland, 

chief of which is White River, and in places, particularly in Jackson 

County, small streams running parallel with the terrace along its 

western margin partly separate it from the Ozark hills to the west, 

leaving the terrace represented only by a ridge.
24 J3EOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

The term " Grandglaise area " was first used by Purdue 1 for the 

portion of the terrace between " Coffeyville and Bradford," in Lonoke 

and White counties. Since the terrace north of White River in Independence and Lawrence counties is the northward continuation 

of the terrace at Grandglaise, it is appropriate to extend the application of the term to that area.

Chinquapin Ridge. An elevated tract in Lonoke County extending from the border of the Ozark province in the vicinity of Austin 

and Cabot to the eastward and southward for several miles has been 

locally termed Chinquapin Ridge; Purdue 2 called it the "sandhill" 

area. The exact limits of this tract have not been determined, but its 

north-south extent is believed to be about 12 miles, and its east-west 

extent is approximately 6 miles. The area presents a series of rolling 

hills rising to a maximum of 375 or 400 feet above sea level, and 125 

to 150 feet above the level of the adjoining Advance lowland. The 

soils consist mainly of reddish, ferruginous sands derived from sandy 

strata probably of Eocene age which compose the body of the hills. 

The southwestern end of the ridge is expressed on the Little Rock 

topographic map by the 300-foot contour, which appears on the map 

east and north of Bayou Two Prairie and south of Cabot. A small 

elevated tract west of Bayou Two Prairie, in the vicinity of Jacksonville, expressed on the Little Rock map by the 300-foot contour, 

may be considered an isolated remnant of this ridge, as may also a 

similar small elevated tract north of Cypress Bayou and southwest of 

Beebe^ in the southern part of White County.

Jones Ridge. In addition to the uplands already described, there 

is one minor elevation in Arkansas, known as Jones Ridge, which 

deserves brief mention. This ridge is in the northeastern part of 

Greene County, between Cache River and the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway, where the nearly level surface of the 

lowland is broken by a northeast-southwest swell, 3 or 4 miles long, 

one-quarter to one-half mile wide, and 30 to 40 feet high. The 

probable age and relations of the ridge are discussed on page 111.

Chickasaw Bluffs (in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi}. 

The Mississippi lowland is bordered on the east in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi by an area lying about 400 feet above sea 

level or 100 to 150 feet above the level of the lowland. This higher 

land is separated from the lowland to the west by a line of bluffs, 

known as Chickasaw Bluffs, which extends from northeast to southwest, approximately parallel to the general course of the Mississippi 

River; north of Memphis the bluffs are nowhere more than 15 miles

1 Water resources of the contact region between the Paleozoic and Mississippi Embayment deposits in northern Arkansas: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 145, p. 94, 

1905.

2 Idem, p. 93.
PHYSIOGRAPHY. 25

from the Mississippi River, but south of Memphis they form the 

eastern boundary of Yazoo bottom, which lies east of the river and 

has a maximum width of 65 miles.

COASTAL PLAIN LOWLANDS. 

ADVANCE LOWLAND.

The name "Advance lowland " is derived from the village of Advance, in the northern part of Stoddard County, Mo., and was first 

used by Marbut 1 in 1902 for a belt of lowland extending from the 

Mississippi Kiver at Cape Girardeau, Mo., southwestward to Mingo, 

in the western part of Stoddard County, and thence southward.into 

Arkansas.

From Cape Girardeau to Mingo the Advance lowland is 2-J to 6 

miles wide; southward from Mingo it broadens out, and from the 

Arkansas State line to the latitude of Jonesboro, in Craighead 

County, is 25 to 30 miles wide; from Craighead County southward it 

broadens, reaching a maximum of about 90 miles in the latitude of 

Little Rock, which width it maintains approximately to its junction 

with the Mississippi lowland.

The Advance lowland is limited on the east by Crowleys Ridge, 

on the northwest by the Ozark province, on the southwest by the 

upland south of the Arkansas River, and on the southeast by the 

Mississippi lowland. The Advance lowland merges into the Mississippi lowland along a line which runs from Helena in an approximate southwestward direction to the southern part of Arkansas 

County.

The surface of the Advance lowland is, in general, a nearly level 

or gently rolling plain, which stands about 342 feet above sea level 

at Cape Girardeau, Mo., whence it slopes gradually southwestward 

and southward at an average rate of about two-thirds of a foot a 

mile to about 150 feet above sea level at its southern extremity in 

Arkansas.

Although now crossed by numerous streams the main topographic 

features of the Advance lowland are obviously the product of one 

great agent; Marbut 2 has shown that the lowland in Missouri is an 

abandoned valley of Mississippi River, and the conclusion seems justified that this great stream once meandered in the area included in 

this division in Arkansas.

At the present time the Advance lowland in Arkansas is drained 

chiefly by Arkansas, White, and L'Anguille rivers and their tribu1 Marbut, C. F., The evolution of the northern part of the lowlands of southeastern 

Missouri: Missouri Univ. Studies, vol. 1, No. 3, 63 pp. (esp. p. 4), 7 pis., 1902.

2 Idem, pp. 47-63.
26 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

taries. Arkansas River enters the lowland at Little Rock, flows southeastward, and joins Mississippi River in Desha County; its principal 

tributary is Bayou Meto, and there is a network of bayous in Arkansas, Jefferson, Lonoke, and Pulaski counties.

White River enters the lowland at Batesville, Independence 

County, flows in a general southward course, and enters Mississippi 

River by means of a network of distributaries through a part of which 

the waters of Arkansas River also flow. The principal western tributaries of White River, from north to south, are Little Red River, 

Bayou Des Arc, Wattensas Bayou, and Big Lagrue Bayou. Black 

River enters Arkansas in Clay County, flows southwestward near the 

western border of the lowland, and joins White River near Newport, 

Jackson County. Cache River rises in the northern part of Clay 

County, flows southwestward near the center of the lowland, and joins 

White River near Clarendon. Bayou De Vue, a tributary of Cache 

River, parallels the latter stream about 8 or 10 miles to the eastward, 

from Craighead County southwestward to Monroe County. Big 

Creek flows from the western part of St. Francis County southward 

to the western part of Phillips County, where it joins White River.

The only other important stream in the area is L'Anguille River, 

which rises in the northern part of Poinsett County, flows southward 

a short distance west of Crowleys Ridge, turns southeastward, and 

leaves the Advance lowland through a gap at Crowleys Ridge in Lee 

County.

The streams of the Advance lowland flow through broad, shallow 

valleys which are a few feet to a maximum of 35 or 40 feet below the 

level of the interstream areas. All the larger streams flow in courses 

approximately parallel to the linear direction of the main lowland, 

but in detail the channels are sinuous and the currents are sluggish.

The bottom lands are characterized by numerous swamps, bayous, 

lakes, and abandoned stream channels, which at many places are 

separated by low ridges rising only a few feet above the level of the 

depressions. The flood plain soils are fertile and support a vigorous 

growth of timber; where well situated as regards drainage they can 

be made to yield large crops of cotton, corn, and other products. 

Many of the low ridges are cultivated.

Between the flood plains of the streams are gently undulating 

plains, underlain except at certain places by silty loams and clays. 

The soils vary from dark, fertile, sandy or nonsandy loams, to lightgray, silty loams and clays which are not well suited to many of the 

common crops; in most places the soils rest on compact clay subsoils 

which are almost impervious to water. At many places the clay soils 

are ferruginous and are filled with numerous small concretions of iron 

oxide; soils of this character are locally termed " buckshot lands."
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

A. PRAIRIE PHASE OF THE ADVANCE LOWLAND, A QUARTER OF A MILE NORTHEAST OF 

OBEAR, CRAIGHEAD COUNTY.

B. LOW CIRCULAR MOUND AT BALD KNOB.

A typical example of the small mounds common in certain parts of the Coastal Plain of Arkansas, Louisiana, and

eastern Texas.

PHYSIOGRAPHY. 27

A considerable part of the interstream areas consists of irregularly 

distributed small and large tracts of gently undulating grass-covered 

prairie lands. Grand Prairie is an irregular but nearly continuous 

tract of prairie, extending from northwest of Lonoke, in Lonoke 

County, southeastward through Prairie County nearly to the southern extremity of Arkansas County. The prairie is broken by numerous slightly depressed patches and strips of timbered land, and by 

the shallow valleys of numerous small creeks and bayous. Prairie 

Longue is a similar but smaller tract in Lonoke County south of 

Bayou Two Prairie. Numerous patches of prairie land lie between 

Bayou De Vue and L'Anguille River in Lee, Monroe, St. Francis, 

Woodruff, Cross, Poinsett, and Craighead counties. (See PI. I, A.) 

The prairie soils are best suited to grazing, the raising of hay, and 

rice culture.

Surrounding and separating or partly separating the patches and 

tracts of prairie lands are slightly depressed lands supporting a 

growth of such trees as post and other small varieties of oak, sassafras, persimmon, and sumac.

In places gently undulating areas, with soils that appear to be 

essentially like the prairie soils, are timber covered except where 

artificially cleared. Tracts of this kind are found in many of the 

counties, but particularly in those lying directly east of the border 

of the Ozark province.

West of and bordering Crowleys Ridge is a belt of heavily timbered land, the soils of which are more fertile than most of the soils 

of the interstream areas elsewhere in the Advance lowland; this belt 

owes its fertility to wash materials from Crowleys Ridge.

At many places in the Advance lowland, but particularly in Clay, 

Randolph, and Lawrence counties in the north, and in the counties 

bordering the Ozark province, there are tracts of rolling timbered 

land composed of numerous low ridges of sand or sandy loam, which 

in general trend parallel to the stream courses. Some of these ridges 

appear to be a part of the alluvial deposits of the present streams, 

but many of them rise above extreme high-water level, are probably 

of Pleistocene age, and may properly be classed as interstream lands.

In Monroe and Phillips counties, west of the southern extremity of 

Crowleys Ridge, is a ridge 10 to 30 feet high and 2 to 3 miles wide, 

known as Hickory Ridge, which extends from near Blackston, in the 

former county, southeastward to several miles beyond Marvell in the 

latter county. There are several similar ridges between Hickory 

Ridge and the southern nose of Crowleys Ridge. Along the western 

side of Crowleys Ridge, in Phillips County, is a well-defined terrace, 

1 to 3 miles wide and 30 or 40 feet higher than the bottom lands of 

Caney Creek, which lies immediately to the west; the terrace is
28 GEOLOGY AND GEOTJND WATERS, NOBTHEASTEEN ARKANSAS.

separated from the ridge on the east and the bottom lands on the 

west by abrupt escarpments, and probably corresponds in elevation 

to the ridges just described. The series of ridges and the terrace have 

probably been produced by erosion where the streams of the Advance 

lowland pass down to the Mississippi lowland, which lies 30 or 40 

feet lower.

MISSISSIPPI LOWLAND.

The Mississippi lowland in Arkansas includes all the area east of 

Crowleys Eidge and a belt 5 to 20 miles wide bordering Mississippi 

River on the west south of the southern extremity of Crowleys 

Ridge. In Missouri this lowland includes the area southeast and 

south of Crowleys Ridge and south of Benton Ridge. The eastern 

boundary of the lowland in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi is 

the Chickasaw Bluffs.

The Mississippi lowland is a gently undulating plain, sloping 

southward at a rate of about three-fourths of a foot per mile from 

an elevation of about 340 feet above sea level at the northern end 

of the Mississippi embayment region near Commerce, Scott County, 

Mo., to about 105 feet at the southern boundary of Arkansas.

Mississippi River, which forms the eastern boundary of the State, 

eventually receives all the drainage of the Mississippi lowland. In 

Arkansas and Missouri the surface immediately west of Mississippi 

River in any given cross section of the valley is the highest part of 

the lowland, and there is a slight gentle slope to the west. As a 

result of this condition the surface waters flow westward, eventually 

reaching the Mississippi through several tributaries that parallel 

the main stream for long distances.

St. Francis River enters the lowland at the northeastern corner of 

Clay County and flows in a general southerly course near the western 

border of the lowland to a point 8 or 10 miles north of the southern 

extremity of Crowleys Ridge, near Helena, where it joins Mississippi 

River. Little River, which enters the lowland between Benton Ridge 

and the northern extremity of Crowleys Ridge in Missouri, flows 

southward and joins St. Francis River in Poinsett County, Ark.

Much of the lowland in Missouri and Arkansas presents a network 

of lakes, bayous, and abandoned stream channels, separated by areas 

of swamp land and by low ridges of sand and sandy loam. Nearly 

all these bodies of water are connected with the drainage systems of 

Little and St. Francis rivers. Much of the area is subject to overflow from Mississippi and St. Francis rivers.

A large area in the western part of the lowland, embracing parts 

of New Madrid, Dunklin, and Pemiscot counties, Mo., and Clay, 

Greene, Craighead, Poinsett, and Mississippi counties, Ark., is known
PHYSIOGRAPHY. 29

as the St. Francis Sunk Lands. However, recent investigations of 

the Land Office and the United States Geological Survey have shown 

either the much smaller size or the nonexistence of many of the large 

lakes shown on the maps. The bearing of these factSj which were 

received too late for incorporation in the maps accompanying this 

report, on the claim that large tracts in this area sank during the 

time of the New Madrid earthquake, in 1811 and 1812,1 has not been 

determined.

The depressions of the lowland are everywhere separated by low, 

rolling ridges, most of which are of relatively small extent and rise 

only a few feet above the level of the depressed areas. Two such 

areas, however, are of sufficient extent to deserve mention. Sikeston 

Ridge, or Big Prairie, is an elevated tract rising about 20 feet above 

the surrounding lowland, 2 to 4 miles wide, and extending from 

south of Lake St. John, Scott County, Mo., southward to New 

Madrid, in New Madrid County.

Another low ridge, resembling Sikeston Ridge, extends, with several interruptions, from the southern part of Stoddard County, Mo., 

a little west of south in a slightly sinuous course through Dunklin 

County, Mo., into the northern part of Mississippi County, Ark.; 

from north to south the different parts of this ridge are known, 

respectively, as Rosebriar Prairie, West Prairie, Grand Prairie, and 

Big Lake Highlands.

A belt of land, nowhere more than 5 or 6 miles wide, which borders 

Crowleys Ridge on the east from Clay County southward to the 

southern part of Craighead County, is a few feet higher than the 

main lowland to the east, and is underlain by "buckshot" clay soil 

similar to some of the prairie soils west of Crowleys Ridge, and may 

be of the same age (Pleistocene). This area is partly covered with 

materials washed from Crowleys Ridge.

Throughout the greater part of the Mississippi lowland the surface is underlain by dark, fertile loams, sandy loams, and sands, 

which support a vigorous growth of timber.

In a large area, including parts of New Madrid, Dunklin, and 

Pemiscot counties, Mo., and Clay, Greene, Craighead, Poinsett, and 

Mississippi counties, Ark., the ridges of sandy loam separating the 

depressions are dotted with so-called sand blows, which are low circular or irregular patches of clean white sand believed to have been 

extruded from underground sources during the time of the New Madrid earthquake in 1811 and 1812.2 The sand blows contain but little 

vegetable mold and are poorly productive.

1 Fuller, M. L., The New Madrid earthquake: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 494, pp. 64-75, 

1912.

2 Idem, pp. 79-83.
30 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS. 

* SMALL MOUNDS.

Low circular mounds, 20 to 100 feet in diameter and 1 to 4 feet 

high (see PI. I, B), constitute a curious but minor topographic feature in certain parts of Arkansas and in places are numerous. Similar mounds of like origin in adjoining States have been described by 

Veatch.1

The writers have observed these mounds in Pulaski, Jefferson, 

Lonoke, White, Jackson, Independence, Lawrence, and Clay counties. 

The materials composing some of the mounds are slightly coarser 

and lighter in color than the surrounding soils, but others appear to 

be essentially like these soils in structure, composition, and color. 

The mounds are not restricted to any particular type of topography 

except that they were not observed on the flood plains of the present 

streams. They occur on the interstream areas of the Advance lowland, on the Coastal Plain uplands along the western border of the 

embayment, and on the slopes of the Paleozoic hills bordering the 

Coastal Plain.

No theory thus far proposed seems satisfactorily to explain the 

origin of the mounds. Veatch discussed the several hypotheses that 

have been advanced to account for them (pp. 56-59 of the report 

cited) and regarded the spring and gas-vent theories, the dune 

theory, and the ant-hill theory as most deserving consideration. The 

occurrence of the mounds in various topographic positions and on 

geologic formations of all ages from Cretaceous to Pleistocene would 

seem to render the spring and gas-vent theories untenable.

Their uniformly circular shape is believed to preclude the possibility of their having been formed by wind. The same objection 

seems to apply to the theory of their formation by ants or burrowing 

animals; besides, no such mounds are known to be in process of formation at the present time, and if formed by either of these agencies 

the species responsible for their construction, whether insect or 

rodent, has either migrated from the region or become extinct. The 

theory that they are of human origin is one that appeals strongly to 

the imagination, chiefly because of the remarkable symmetry of the 

mounds and their distribution. Their vast numbers in certain areas, 

however, would seem to preclude the possibility of their having been 

formed by man. For instance, along the line of the Texas & Pacific 

Railway between Texarkana and Annona, Tex., a distance of more 

than 50 miles, the mounds occur in astonishing numbers. Many fields 

are almost completely covered with them, the outer edges of many of

1 Veatch, A. C., Geology and underground water resources of northern Louisiana and 

southern Arkansas: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 46, pp. 55-59, 1906.
O > o 

3

Recent 

(chiefly)

CRETACEOUS PALEOZOIC QUATERNARY
. GEOLOGY. 31

the mounds even being in contact with one another. In order to account for their construction by human beings it would seem necessary 

to postulate a prehistoric race numbering many millions.

GEOLOGY.

GENERAL COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF THE AREA.

The Mississippi embayment is a broad arm of the Gulf Coastal 

Plain extending about 250 miles up the valley of Mississippi River 

to the southern extremity of Illinois. The area is surrounded on the 

west, north, and east by a territory in which are consolidated sedimentary rocks of Paleozoic age. Structurally the embayment is a 

down-warped trough of Paleozoic rocks filled to the level of the present surface with deposits, mostly unconsolidated, ranging in age 

from Cretaceous to Recent. The axis of the trough trends slightly 

west of south and the maximum depth, though not determined, 

probably exceeds 3,000 feet; the depth at Memphis has been shown 

by well borings to be more than 2,500 feet.

The areal distribution of the geologic formations which outcrop 

within the area treated in this report is indicated on the geologic 

map, Plate II. An idea of the structure of the Mississippi embayment may be had by referring to the geologic sections given in Plates 

III and IV. A-B-C-D (PI. Ill) is a section along the linear direction of Crowleys Ridge from the northern extremity of the ridge in 

Stoddard County, Mo., to the southern extremity of the ridge in 

Phillips County, Ark.; E-F (PI. Ill) is a,section across the embayment from the vicinity of Supply, Randolph County, Ark., to a point 

12 miles east of Paris, Henry County, Tenn.; G-H (PL IV) is a 

section across the embayment from Grandglaise, Jackson County, 

Ark., to a point 10 miles south of Decaturville, Decatur County, 

Tenn. ;I-J (PL IV) is a section extending partly across the embayment 

from Little Rock, Pulaski County, Ark., to near Helena, Phillips 

County, Ark. In these sections the elevation of the upper surface 

of the Eocene is in most places represented too low, owing to the 

necessary exaggeration of the thickness of the Lafayette formation.

Deposits of Cretaceous age occupy the bottom of the trough and 

probably reach a maximum thickness of 2,000 feet or more. They outcrop in a relatively narrow belt along the eastern limb of the trough 

in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and southern Illinois, and along 

the western limit of the trough in the vicinity of Newark, Independence County, Ark.; they are also present at a relatively shallow 

depth along the border of the Ozark province from Little Rock, 

Pulaski County, northeastward to Beebe, White County.

The Cretaceous deposits are overlain by Eocene deposits, including 

in ascending order the Midway, Wilcox, Claiborne, and Jackson for-
32 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

mations, 1,000 feet or more in aggregate thickness. These formations 

outcrop east of Mississippi Kiver in Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, 

and southern Illinois; they form the core of Crowleys Kidge in 

Arkansas; they outcrop in the Coastal Plain uplands of south-central 

Arkansas, and in small areas along the western margin of the embayment from Little Kock northeastward to the southern part of Independence County. In the broad belt of outcrop east of Mississippi 

River the Eocene deposits are partly overlain by gravels and sands 

of the Lafayette formation (Pliocene?) and the latter are in turn 

partly overlain by deposits of loess (Pleistocene). The same succession of surficial deposits occurs above the Eocene in Crowleys 

Kidge. On the crests of the Paleozoic hills bordering the embayment on the west and in places capping the Grandglaise terrace are 

scattered deposits of gravel, sand, and argillaceous loam, which probably represent, respectively, the Lafayette formation and the loess.

The Cretaceous and Eocene deposits, the overlying Lafayette formation, and the loess have been partly removed by the erosive action 

of Mississippi and Ohio rivers to depths of 100 to 225 feet below the 

present surface of the lowlands, and the valleys have been partly 

refilled by deposits brought in by the same streams. In this manner 

the Advance and Mississippi lowlands which cover the greater part 

of the area under consideration have been formed.

PALEOZOIC BOCKS.

Outcropping Paleozoic rocks. The area treated in this report is 

bordered on the northwest by the Ozark province. In the contact 

region between the Gulf Coastal Plain and the Ozark province the 

rocks composing the latter consist of Paleozoic limestones, sandstones, 

and shales, representing the Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian 

systems, which outcrop from Independence County northward to 

the State line, and the Carboniferous system, which outcrop from 

Independence County southward to Pulaski County.

The pre-Carboniferous rocks of Independence, Lawrence, and Randolph counties, which are chiefly magnesian limestones of the Ordovician system and subordinately limestones of Silurian and sandstones and shales of Devonian age, lie nearly horizontal or are only 

gently folded. The Carboniferous rocks of Independence, Jackson, 

White, Lonoke, and Pulaski counties, which include representatives 

of both the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian series, consist mainly 

of cherts, shales, and sandstones, with, however, a subordinate amount 

of limetones; these rocks vary in position from nearly horizontal to* 

strongly folded.

From Little Rock northeastward to Missouri the Pale6zoic hills 

immediately west of the Gulf Coastal Plain rise 400 to 500 feet or
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 399 PLATE II!

c ~ D

Section northwestsoutheast from a 

point 5'A miles 

south of L'Anguille 

River to a pomt 

near Helena

Section Section northeast - southwest from St Francis Riverto Jonesboro, Ark Section north - south, from Jonesboro to a Point $'/* miles south of L'Anguille'River northeast-south west .'from'Stoddard, Co., Mo. to St. Francis River

Undifferentiated sands, clays 

and marls, probably including 

representatives of the Midway 

and Wilcox formations *

Undifferentiated sands, clays, 

and marls of Cretaceous age

Horizontal scale 

0 10-20

Vertical scale 

0 1000 2000

Vertical scale exaggerated about 42 times

Undifferentiated sands and 

clays .of Cretaceous age.

rSea level 

f.Claiborne 

formation.

soMites

sooo Feet

A-B-C-D, GEOLOGIC CROSS SECTION ALONG A LINE FOLLOWING THE TOP OF CROWLEYS RIDGE FROM THE NORTHERN EXTREMITY IN STODDARD COUNTY, MO., TO THE SOUTHERN EXTREMITY IN PHILLIPS COUNTY, ARK.

E-F, GEOLOGIC CROSS SECTION FROM A POINT NEAR SUPPLY, RANDOLPH COUNTY, ARK., TO A POINT 12 MILES EAST OF PARIS, HENRY COUNTY, TENN.
GEOLOGY. 33

more above sea level, or 100 to 200 feet or more above the level of the 

Advance lowland to the east. The boundary is marked by a relatively abrupt escarpment which is believed to be a sea cliff formed 

along an early Eocene shore line.

Buried Paleozoic rocks. The Paleozoic rocks are separated from 

the deposits of the Coastal Plain by a steep eastward-sloping nonconformable contact, which is the continuation beneath the surface 

of the ancient erosion escarpment that separates the Coastal Plain 

from the Ozark province. The contact maintains its relatively steep 

position to only a small depth, probably 20 to 50 feet, beyond which 

it flattens out and extends eastward beneath the deposits of the 

Coastal Plain at a slight dip, probably nowhere exceeding 75 feet to 

the mile. The buried Paleozoic rocks have been reached in numerous 

wells near the western margin of the Gulf Coastal Plain at depths 

ranging from 20 to 60 feet.

Little is known concerning the depth to the Paleozoic basement 

rocks in the Mississippi embayment except in close proximity to its 

outside rim. A few deep wells, however, have thrown some light on 

the subject.

A well at Newport, Jackson County, is believed to have entered the 

Paleozoic rocks at a depth of 655 feet.

A well at Stuttgart, Arkansas County, 40 miles southeast of the 

Paleozoic border, stopped on solid rock at a depth of 1,200 feet; the 

available data are insufficient to determine whether the rock was an 

indurated layer in the deposits of the Coastal Plain or the Paleozoic 

basement rocks.

A 1,265-foot well at Jonesboro, Craighead County, 30 miles from 

the Paleozoic border, did not reach the basement rocks.

A 960-foot well at Campbell,1 Dunklin County, Mo., 24 miles from 

the Paleozoic border, also failed to reach the basement rocks.

A 960-foot well at Paducah, Ky., encountered Paleozoic limestone 

at a depth of 300 feet.

Two wells at Morehouse,2 New Madrid County, Mo., 16 miles from 

the nearest outcrop of Paleozoic rocksf struck Cambrian limestone at 

depths of 690 and 696 feet, respectively.

A 2,007-foot well at Marked Tree, Poinsett County, Ark., 44 

miles southeast of the Paleozoic border, did not reach the basement 

rocks.

A well near Memphis, Tenn., near the center of the Mississippi Embayment and about 145 miles south of the head of the embayment, 

was drilled to a depth of 2,500-f feet and did not reach the basement 

rocks.

1 Shepard, E. M., Underground waters of Missouri: TJ. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply 

Paper 195, pp. 175, 176, 1907.

2 Idem, p. 175.

11674° WSP 399 16 3
34 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS. 

MESOZOIC AND CENOZOIC FORMATIONS. 

Generalized section.

A generalized section of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic formations of 

the Coastal Plain of eastern and northeastern Arkansas is given in the 

following table:

Generalized section of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks of northeastern

Arkansas.

System.

Quaternary.

Tertiary.

Cretaceous.

Series.

Recent.

Pleistocene.

Pliocene (?).

Eocene.

Upper Cretaceous.

Formation.

Lafayette formation.

Jackson formation.

Claiborne formation. 

-Unconformity (?) 

Wilcox formation.

Midway formation.

Nacatoch sand (?).

(Paleozoic rocks undifferentiated.)

Characteristics.

Alluvium; water-bearing.

Alluvium; yields large quantities of water.

Loess; not an important waterbearer.

Gravels and sands; waterbearing in part.

Sands, clays, and marls; 

water-bearing in part.

Sands, clays, lignites, and 

marls; water-bearing.

Sands, clays, and lignites; 

water-bearing.

Limestones, sands, and marls; 

probably water-bearing in 

buried extension.

Glauconitic sands, clays, and 

marls; probably water-oearing in buried extension.

Thickness.

Feet. 0-75

100-200

0-140

0-80

0-200

100-200

500-1,000

o22

o80

o Maximum observed thickness.

Cretaceous system.

IGNEOUS INTRUSIONS OF LATE LOWER CRETACEOUS OR EARLY UPPER

CRETACEOUS AGE.

Igneous intrusive rocks occur in one small tract in the area covered 

by the geologic map (PL II) accompanying this report. This tract 

is in Pulaski County, a few miles south of Little Kock, and is known 

as the Fourche. Mountain region. The igneous rocks consist of 

Pulaskite (blue granite), eleeolite syenite (gray granite), and several 

other related varieties of rock. Associated with the igneous rocks 

and with the adjacent Tertiary sediments are important deposits of 

bauxite, the chief ore of aluminum.

Williams 1 regarded the age of these rocks as late Cretaceous or 

early Tertiary.

1 Williams, J. F., The igneous rocks of Arkansas: Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. Rept. for 

1890, vol. 2, pp. 5, 123, 1891.
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 399 PLATE IV

H

Sea level

Undifferentiated sands, clays, 

and marts of Cretaceous age

G-H

10

Horizontal scale

10 20 SOMiles

1000

Vertical scale 

o 1000 2000 3000 Feet

Vertical scale exaggerated about 42times

!==^- > Claiborne formation

G-H GEOLOGIC CROSS SECTION FROM A POINT NEAR GRANDGLAISE, JACKSON COUNTY, ARK., TO A POINT 10 MILES SOUTH OF DECATURVILLE, DECATUR COUNTY, TENN.

I-J, GEOLOGIC CROSS SECTION .FROM A POINT NEAR LITTLE ROCK, ARK., TO A POINT NEAR HELENA, ARK.

GEOLOGY. 35

Miser 1 has recently shown that the peridotites of southwest Arkansas, which are believed to be of approximately the same age as the 

igneous rocks near Little Rock, cut the Trinity formation (Lower 

Cretaceous), and that pebbles of several kinds of the igneous rocks 

of the region are included in the basal gravels of the Bingen sand 

(basal Upper Cretaceous). The Trinity and Bingen formations are 

separated by an unconformity and the intrusions must have occurred 

during the interval which it represents. In a more recent unpublished statement Miser expresses the opinion that the time of the 

intrusions was late Lower Cretaceous or early Upper Cretaceous, 

and they may have accompanied the downwarping that produced 

the transgression of the Upper Cretaceous sea in the Mississippi 

em'bayment.

UPPER CRETACEOUS SERIES. 

CHARACTER AND DISTRIBUTION.

Strata of Upper Cretaceous age outcrop in a narrow area along the 

western border of the Mississippi embayment in Independence 

County; however, Cretaceous deposits are believed to be present 

beneath younger formations throughout practically all the area 

treated in this report. The buried deposits are believed to be referable to the Upper Cretaceous, although in the center of the Mississippi embayment Lower Cretaceous deposits may intervene between 

the base of the Upper Cretaceous and the Paleozoic basement rocks.

The data available indicate that the Cretaceous deposits consist 

chiefly of argillaceous and sandy marls, sands, and clays of marine 

origin and attain their maximum thickness in the south-central part 

of the Mississippi embayment; according to the interpretation of logs 

of wells at Memphis, Tenn., the deposits have been penetrated from 

a depth of 1,135 feet to a depth of over 2,500 feet, showing here a 

thickness of over 1,300 feet.

. The buried Cretaceous strata of this area are the northwestward 

and westward continuation of deposits that outcrop in Mississippi, 

Tennessee, Kentucky, and southern Illinois and the northeastward 

continuation of deposits that outcrop in southwestern Arkansas.

In southwestern Arkansas the Cretaceous deposits have been 

divided in ascending order into the Trinity sand of the Lower Cretaceous, and the Bingen sand, the Brownstown marl, the Annona 

chalk, the Marlbrook marl, the Nacatoch sand, and the Arkadelphia 

clay of the Upper Cretaceous. East of Mississippi Kiver in the 

States enumerated the deposits have been divided in ascending order 

into the Tuscaloosa formation, the Eutaw formation, the Selma 

chalk, and the Ripley formation, all of Upper Cretaceous age.

1 MiBer, H. D,, New areas of diamond-bearing peridotite in Arkansas : U. S, Geol. Survey 

Bull. 540, pp. 541-545, 1914.
36 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN AR-KANSAS.

Only meager data have been obtained for differentiating into formations the buried Cretaceous strata of the Mississippi embayment. 

The marls encountered in wells along the western border of the areo, 

at Little Rock, Cabot, and Beebe contain a fauna corresponding in 

age to the fauna of the Nacatoch sand in southwestern Arkansas, of 

the Navarro formation in Texas, and of the typical Ripley strata 

exposed in Tippah County, Miss. The meager fauna found in surface outcrops in the vicinity of Newark, Independence County, is 

certainly of Upper Cretaceous age, and, although too imperfect to 

admit of an exact correlation, the containing beds probably represent 

the northward extension of the Nacatoch sand.

Deep wells, which are believed to have penetrated strata of Cretaceous age, have been drilled in Jackson, Arkansas, Craighead, Mississippi, and Poinsett counties, Ark.; at Memphis, Tenn.; and at 

Campbell, Dunklin County, Mo*, (see pp. 42-44) ; a Cretaceous fossil 

has been obtained from an excavation -at Cairo, 111.

NACATOCH SAND (?). 

GENERAL FEATURES.

The name Nacatoch is derived from Nacatoch Bluff on Little Missouri Kiver, Clark County, Ark., and was first used by Veatch x for a 

series of Upper Cretaceous sands in southwest Arkansas, which intervenes between the Marlbrook marl and the Arkadelphia clay. According to Veatch, the formation corresponds approximately to thQ. Washington greensand of Hill,2 but the latter name was found to 

be preoccupied by the Washington County group described by Stevenson 3 in 1876.

In northeastern Arkansas the deposits regarded as representing 

this formation outcrop in the Grandglaise terrace in gullies and along 

valley slopes from near Magness and Newark in Independence Count" 

northeastward to the southern part of Lawrence County.

In southwestern Arkansas the formation outcrops in a belt 2 to 8 

miles wide, extending from near Arkadelphia, Clark County, southwestward to the western part of Hempstead County.

In Independence and Lawrence counties the formation rests urconformably upon Paleozoic rocks of Carboniferous and pre-Carboniferous age, and is overlain unconformably by gravels of the 

Lafayette formation. The buried representatives of the formation in 

White, Lonoke, and Pulaski counties rest unconformably upon Carboniferous rocks and are overlain, probably unconformably, by 

Eocene strata and chiefly by the Midway formation.

1 Veatch, A. C., Geology and underground water resources of northern Louisiana ard 

southern Arkansas: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 46, pp. 26, 27, 1906.

2 Hill, R. T., The Neozoic geology of southwestern Arkansas : Arkansas Geol. Survey 

Ann. Kept., vol. 2, pp. 72-75, 1888.

s Pennsylvania Second Geol. Survey Rept. K, pp. 44-46, 1876.
GEOLOGY. 37

Where observed in outcrops in Independence County the formation consists mainly of glauconitic sands interbedded with drab or 

gray laminated clays. The glauconite is present in all stages of 

oxidation, rendering the sands reddish or brownish in color, and 

locally the beds are indurated to brownish, ferruginous sandstones. 

Iron carbonate concretions in various stages of oxidation were observed at one locality, and calcareous and fossiliferous layers occur 

locally in the formation.

The materials of the formation recognized in wells in White, 

Lonoke, and Pulaski counties (pp. 40, 41) consist of bluish-gray 

calcareous fossiliferous sandstones and clays.

Owing to the small extent and paucity of the exposures, little is 

known concerning the structure of the formation in central and northeastern Arkansas. However, considerations based on the general 

structure of the Mississippi embayment lead to the opinion that the 

strata strike approximately northeast and southwest parallel to. the 

trend of the eastern border of the Ozark province, and dip slightly 

to the east or southeast away from that border.

In the vicinity of Newark, Independence County, the formation 

contains a few poorly preserved fossil mollusks and shark teeth, and 

a -few species of mollusks have been obtained from the beds of the 

formation penetrated in wells in White, Lonoke, and Pulaski counties. The names of some of the more important fossils are given in 

the discussion of the correlation of the formation on page 42.

LOCAL DETAILS.

Independence County. In valleys and gullies cutting the Grandglaise terrace, in the vicinity of Newark, Independence County, are 

exposures of greenish to reddish or brownish, more or less completely oxidized greensand, interbedded with subordinate layers 

and lenses of laminated drab clay, the age of which as shown by 

poorly preserved fossils is Upper Cretaceous. Several localities were 

examined in detail and are described in subsequent paragraphs.

Two miles north of Newark, on the upper road leading to Sulphur 

Rock, the following section is exposed in the road ditches on the 

west-facing slope of Thomas Creek valley along a distance of about 

one-quarter mile.

Section 2 miles north of Newark on upper road leading to Sulphur RocJc; westfacing slope of Thomas Creek valley.

[Top of section 100± feet above level of Advance lowland, aneroid reading.] 

Pliocene (?) (Lafayetteformation) : Feet. 

3. Heavy bed of gravel capping the hill east of the 

creek valley; consists mainly of angular to partially 

rounded brown, gray, and red pebbles and cobbles 

of chert and flint up to 6 inches or more in length; 

materials from this bed have drifted down over 

the valley slope to the base of the hill 25±
38 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN" ARKANSAS.

Upper Cretaceous (Naeatoeh sand?): Feet. 

2. Greenish-drab weathered clay, poorly exposed_____ 25± 

1. Dark-green to reddish or brownish, more or less 

oxidized, highly glaueonitic sand, and drab laminated clay, the clay predominating in the upper 15 

or 20 feet and the sand predominating in the lower 

40 or 45 feet; the glauconite in the sand is present in all stages of oxidation from, dark-green, 

slightly oxidized grains to completely oxidized 

grains; locally the sand is indurated to dark-brown 

ferruginous sandstone, and one such layer, 20 or 

25 feet above the base, contains poorly preserved 

fossils, among which were recognized an unidentified coral, Exogyra (print of a small valve), 

Turritella trilira Conrad (?), and a shark tooth 

(field No. 270)______________________ 60

110±

Two and one-half miles north of Newark, 20 or 25 feet of materials 

corresponding to layer No. 1 of the preceding section are exposed in 

a gully in a field just east of the road leading to Cord. The materials here consist of glaueonitic greensand interbedded with layers 

of drab laminated clay, yellow ocher-like ironstone, and more or less 

completely oxidized concretions of iron carbonate, many of which 

have an unoxidized core. Ten or fifteen feet above the base of the 

section is a discontinuous concretionary layer of coarse, calcareous, 

glaueonitic sandstone containing small black phosphatic pebbles and 

a few poorly preserved waterworn fossils; the individual lenses are 

several feet in length and 3 to 4 inches in thickness. The following 

Cretaceous fossils were recognized: Ostrea tecticosta Gabb, Ostrea 

sp. (young individual), and Anomia sp. (a ribbed form) (field 

No. 271).

In a gully on a public road leading'west from the Magness-Sulphur 

Kock road, about 1 mile north of Magness and 3 miles west of 

Newark, the following section is exposed:

Section in public road leading west from the Madness-Sulphur Rock road, 1

mile north of Magness.

[Top of section 100± feet above level of Advance lowland, aneroid reading.]

Pleistocene (?) (loess?): Feet.

Yellowish and brownish pebbly loam capping the hill__ 2-3 

Pliocene (?) (Lafayetteformation) :

Gravel composed of pebbles and cobbles of flint and

chert up to 8 or 10 inches in length__________. 3-4 

Unconformity.
GEOLOGY. 39

Upper Cretaceous (Nacatoch sand?) : Feet. 

Red oxidized glauconitic sand, locally indurated to 

ferruginous sandstone, with interbedded subordinate 

layers of laminated clay______________ ___ 20. 

Gravel composed chiefly of pebbles of flint and chert, 

with some fragments of sandstone; the pebbles are 

angular to smoothly rounded, are gray, black, and 

brown, and reach 3 or 4 inches in length______ $-1 

Unconformity. 

Paleozoic (Carboniferous) :

Dark compact shale__________________ 15

43±

Soft fossiliferous limestone or marl, which probably belongs to 

the Nacatoch sand, is encountered in wells at and near Newark. 

However, none of the fossiliferous material has been saved for examination. Specific localities, where the material has been reported, 

are a well in Newark, where 3 feet of gray limestone or marl containing mollusks and shark teeth was penetrated between the depths 

18 and 21 feet (see log, p. 194), and 2 miles north of Newark, where, 

in a phosphate prospecting pit, dug to an undetermined depth, a 

similar bed of marl was encountered.

The exposures described show that the body of the Grandglaise 

terrace in the vicinity of Newark is composed of strata of Upper 

Cretaceous age, probably representing the northward extension of 

the Nacatoch sand of southwest Arkansas. The Cretaceous is overlain by gravels of the Lafayette formation, reaching a maximum 

thickness of 25 or 30 feet, a-nd above the latter is a thin layer, not 

everywhere present, of sandy and pebbly loam, believed to represent 

the loess of Crowleya Eidge.

Between Newark, Independence County,' and Strawberry, Lawrence County, stratified sands and clays, probably of the same age as 

the Cretaceous strata in the vicinity of Newark, are exposed in places 

in the Grandglaise terrace, and have been examined at the followingdescribed localities:

Three miles north of Newark, on the Newark-Powhatan road, alternating beds of sand and pinkish-gray clay rest upon Paleozoic sandstone.

In sec. 2, T. 13 N., E. 4 W., alternating beds of red sand and gray 

clay are exposed near the top of the terrace, which is here well developed and rises about 90 feet above Black Eiver bottom.

Between Dota and Cord the terrace is 2 to 3 miles wide. Highly 

stratified sands and clays were observed to maximum heights of 70 

to 90 feet above the level of Black Eiver bottom; gravels of the 

Lafayette formation and yellow loams, probably representing the 

loess of Crowleys Eidge, overlie the sands and clays at many places.

Stratified sands and clays were observed in the vicinity of Saffel 

post office (now discontinued). Three-quarters of a mile north of
40 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Saffel a few feet of gray to blue clay, interstratified with red sand 

and overlain by 2 to 10 feet of yellow loam, is exposed; the loam 

resembles certain facies of loess in Crowleys Ridge and is believed 

to be of the same age as the loess (Pleistocene). The loam forms 

the surface material of the terrace from about 3 miles south of Saffel 

to Strawberry, in Lawrence County.

South of Independence County. Most of the known data regarding the existence of buried deposits of Cretaceous age along the 

western border of the Mississippi embayment, south of Independence 

County, have been published by Harris. 1 With reference to specimens of marl encountered in wells at Beebe, White County, at depths 

not exceeding 64 feet, Harris says:

A fragment of this marl from Beebe was obtained by the present writer from 

the State Survey collection, and when examined its Cretaceous characters were 

definitely ascertained. The matter was accordingly submitted to the Mesozoic 

Division of the United States Geological Survey, and Dr. T. W. Stanton reports 

finding in it the following species of Cretaceous (Ripley) fossils:

Nucula percrassa Conrad. 

Gari? elliptica Gabb. 

Veleda lintea Conrad?

Scaphites conradi (Morton). 

Baculites anceps Lamarck.

Harris gives other data as follows:

Placenticeras sp,

Lonoke County. Among some material sent to the United States Geological 

Survey in 1890 by Dr. Branner are three or four fragments of Exogyra costata 

labeled " Well at Cabot Station, Iron Mt. R. R., Lonoke Co., Arkansas, sec. 18, 

4 N., 9 W.; E. C. Buehanan, collector, April, 1873." Another package, marked 

" Well at Cabot, Hendricks," contains numerous specimens of an Anomia and 

Cardium eufaulense? and other more indistinct forms, all imbedded in a bluish 

gray calcareous sandstone resembling closely the concretionary rocks of the 

upper Ripley group.

From a well at Cabot, known as the Nusury well, owned by Mr. 

George P. Murrell, the junior author of the present report obtained 

fossiliferous material, taken between the depths of 20 and 46 feet, 

which on lithologic grounds are separable into dark-gray calcareous 

clay, with numerous fragments of shells, in part arranged in seams 

and pockets, and gray calcareous stndstone.

Among the poorly preserved fossils in the clay the senior author 

has identified the following forms: Leda pinnaforma Gabb, Anomia 

argentaria Morton?, Crassatellites sp., Cardium sp., Cyprimeria depressa Conradj Scaphites sp. In the sandstone he recognized Nucula 

sp., Glycymeris sp. (young individual), Anomia sp. (ribbed form), 

and Cardium eufaulense Conrad.

In regard to the Cretaceous strata in Pulaski County, Harris says:

Pulaski County. It is at present impossible to say to what extent the Eocene 

deposits of Pulaski County are underlaid by Cretaceous. In the vicinity of

1 Harris, G. D., The Tertiary geology of southern Arkansas: Arkansas Geol. Survey 

Ann. Kept, for 1892, vol. 2, pp. 10-15, 1894.
GEOLOGY. 41

Little Rock, however, there is good, though not absolutely positive evidence, 

that beneath the limestone layer of the Midway Eocene there are Cretaceous 

deposits from 10 to 30 feet in thickness. A package was sent to the United 

States Geological Survey by Dr. Branner, marked " J. S. Taylor's well, West 

7th Street, near Bishop Street, Little Rock; E. C. Buchanan, collector, July, 

1875," containing the following Cretaceous forms:

Anomia (as at Cabot).

Cardium eufaulense?

Leptosolen biplicata (Stanton's identification).

Turritella trilira.

The striking similarity between the matrix and fossils from this locality to 

those found at Cabot has led to the suspicion, though perhaps ungrounded, that 

all may have come from the latter place and at some time had been improperly 

labeled. Yet, even though this be true, there are other evidences which go 

far to show that there are Cretaceous deposits within the limits of the city 

of Little Rock.

Harris 1 also describes several exposures of bog iron ore, ferruginous 

sand and clay, and sand, which he believes to be of Cretaceous age, 

at several localities within the city of Little Rock. These beds underlie strata of undoubted Midway (Eocene) age and the ferruginous 

bed in places contains obscure casts of fossils, among which are questionably identified impressions of Baculites and Exogyra costata. 

These localities are as follows:

Intersection of Nineteenth Street or " Hot Springs road " and the St. Louis, 

Iron Mountain & Southern Railway; 10 feet of bog iron ore overlain by 20 feet 

of white and yellow sand.

The flanks of the depression in western Little Rock through which the St. 

Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway passes.

The corner of Sixth and Wolfe streets; ferruginous concretions with obscure 

casts.

On .Twelfth and Thirteenth streets, west of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & 

Southern Railway, about 100 yards south of the Hot Springs road; ferruginous 

bed with indistinct impressions of fossils.

The data indicate the presence of Upper Cretaceous strata, probably 

representing the Nacatoch sand, at a relatively shallow depth along 

the western margin of the Mississippi embayment from Little Rock 

at least as far north as Beebe, White County.

CORRELATION.

Surface deposits in the vicinity of Newark, Independence County, 

have yielded the following species:

Species from Cretaceous deposits exposed near Newark, Independence

County.

Unidentified coral. 

Ostrea tecticosta Gabb. 

Ostrea sp. (young individual). 

Exogyra (print of small valve).

Anomia sp. (ribbed form). 

Turritella trilira Conrad (?) 

Unidentified shark tooth.

i Harris, G. D., op. cit, pp. 13, 14.
42 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

The fossils enumerated are characteristic Upper Cretaceous forms, 

but those identified specifically, with the possible exception of the 

ribbed Anomia, have rather wide vertical ranges within the Upper 

Cretaceous and are therefore not of much value in establishing an 

exact-correlation with known sections elsewhere. In terms of the 

Upper Cretaceous section of southwestern Arkansas, both Ostrea 

tecticosta Gabb and Turritella trilira Conrad might be taken as 

indications of any one of the Upper Cretaceous formations, from the 

Brownstown marl to the Arkadelphia clay, inclusive. So far as 

known, the type of Anomia found at this place is restricted in range 

to the upper part of the Upper Cretaceous, and this form probably 

limits the possible correlation of the beds to either the Nacatoch sand 

or the Arkadelphia clay. The highly glauconitic character of the 

deposits, however, is strong though not conclusive evidence that they 

represent the northward extension of the Nacatoch sand.

This correlation is strengthened by the evidence afforded by certain 

of the Cretaceous fossils found in wells in Lonoke and White counties, such as Exogyra costata Say, Garif elliptica Gabb, Scaphites 

conradi (Morton), and Baculites anceps Lamarck. (See p. 40.) 

In known sections these fossils are restricted in range and indicate 

that the containing beds are approximately synchronous with the 

Nacatoch sand. The deposits in the vicinity of Newark, Independence County, are believed to be the northward continuation of these 

buried strata.

CRETACEOUS STRATA PENETRATED IN WELLS AND EXCAVATIONS.

Well at Newport, Jackson County. A 1,000-foot well at Newport, 

Jackson County, a log of which is given on page 197, passed through 

500 feet of quicksand between depths of 155 and 655 feet; the quicksand is probably referable in part or in whole to the Cretaceous.

Well at Stuttgart, Arkansas County. In 1906 and 1907 a 1,200- 

foot oil-prospecting well was drilled near Stuttgart, Arkansas 

County. (See incomplete log on p. 152.) Glauconitic sand, which 

may be referable to the Cretaceous, was penetrated between the 

depths of 950 and 1,078 feet.

Wells at Jonesboro, Craighead County. At the city waterworks 

plant at Jonesboro, in Craighead County, two wells have been drilled 

to depths of 1,214 and 1,265 feet, respectively. An approximate log 

of the deeper well is given on page 169. It is believed that several 

hundred feet of Cretaceous strata were penetrated in the lower part 

of the boring.

Wells in Mississippi County. Wells in Mississippi County at 

Blytheville (depth 1,448 feet), at Burdette (depth 1,495.5 feet), and 

at Wilson (depth 1,567 feet) entered the Cretaceous and probably
GEOLOGY. 43

penetrated several hundred feet of strata of that age in the lower 

parts of the borings. Incomplete logs of the Blytheville and Burdette wells are given on pages 225 and 226.

Well at Marked Tree, Poinsett County. A. 2,007-foot well at 

Marked Tree, in Poinsett County, probably penetrated not less than 

1,000 feet of Cretaceous strata in its lower part. (See p. 245.)

Wells at Memphis, Tenn. Several deep wells have been drilled 

at Memphis, Tenn. The logs of two of them, the depths of which are, 

respectively, 1,583 and 1,794 f eet5 are quoted on pages 176 and 177. In 

1911-12 an oil-prospecting well was drilled on Old Hen and Chicken 

Island, near Memphis, to a depth of 2,500+ feet. No fossils have 

been obtained from these wells and the attempted correlations were 

based on the lithologic character of the materials penetrated. According to Ashley's interpretation of the log of oil-prospecting well 

No. 1 on Hen and Chicken Island, quoted on page , 155 feet of 

blue clay, penetrated between the depths 980 and 1,135 feet, represents the Porters Creek clay (Eocene); 454 feet of sand and clay, 

sand predominating, between the depths 1,135 and 1,589 feet, represent the Eipley formation (Upper Cretaceous); clay and sand, clay 

predominating, between the depths 1,589 feet and the bottom of the 

well at 1,794 feet, represent the Selma chalk (Upper Cretaceous).

According to information obtained by correspondence with Mr. 

H. L. Armstrong, of Memphis, the oil-prospecting well on Old Hen 

and Chicken Island is believed to have completely penetrated the 

clay representing the Selma chalk at a depth of 2,375 feet, making 

a total thickness of 786 feet for this formation. If this interpretation is correct, the well penetrated at least 125 feet of the Eutaw 

formation which underlies the Selma.

Well at Campbell, Dunklin County, Mo. A 960-foot well at 

Campbell, Dunklin County, Mo., a log of which is quoted on page 163, 

is believed to have penetrated Cretaceous strata. According to 

Shepard, who published the log, the lower 20 feet of the section is of 

Kipley (Upper Cretaceous) age, but possibly a part of the overlying 

clay is also of Cretaceous age.

Excavation at Cairo, III. Definite evidence of the presence of 

Upper Cretaceous strata as far north as southern Illinois is afforded 

by a fossil shell found near Cairo, 111. The following data are 

quoted from a paper by the senior author: 1

This specimen was discovered in an excavation for a bridge pier and later 

came into the possession of the State Museum at Springfield, 111. Thence it 

was sent to Dr. C. A. White, at the National Museum, Washington, D. C., and 

was identified by him as Exogyra costata Say. Recently the specimen was 

again sent to Washington by request and was determined by the writer to be

1 Stephenson, L. W., The Cretaceous deposits of the eastern Gulf region: TJ. S. Geol. 

Survey Prof. Paper 81, p. 18, 1914.
44 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

a typical specimen of Exogyra costata var. cancellata Stephenson. The information given on the label accompanying the specimen is as follows: " Specimen 

No. 8358 of the State Natural History Museum, Springfield, 111. Locality: 

Bottom of Ohio River; found in sinking a caisson for Illinois Central Railroad bridge near Cairo, 111." The shell was not waterworn. Portions of the 

matrix in which the shell was originally embedded, adhering to the surface, 

consisted of fine, gray, calcareous, argillaceous, micaceous, marine sand. 

Although from the account of its discovery it can not be positively asserted that 

this specimen of Exogyra was in its original position in marine sand where 

found, the assumption that it was in place seems reasonable. Whether this 

marine sand exists as a lens in the predominantly shallow-water beds of the 

McNairy sand member [of the Ripley formation] or constitutes a northward 

extension of the stratigraphically lower, purely marine strata of the Ripley 

formation of Tennessee, which in Kentucky and Illinois have become overlapped 

and buried by the beds of the McNairy sand member, is not definitely known. 

However, on the assumption that the specimen belonged in place where found, 

the Cretaceous sea is shown to have extended, probably as a broad, open embayment, as far north as Cairo.

Tertiary system.

DISTRIBUTION.

Within the area here treated deposits of Tertiary age (Eocene) 

outcrop in Crowleys Ridge, in the upland southwest of Arkansas 

River, and, interruptedly, in a narrow belt along the western border 

of the Mississippi embayment from Little Rock, Pulaski County, at 

least as far northeast as the southern part of Independence County; 

if the scattered deposits of gravel which occur along the border of 

the Ozark province belong to the Pliocene, the Tertiary is represented 

all the way to the Arkansas line. Detailed descriptions of nearly 

all the more conspicuous exposures and of many of the less prominent 

ones have appeared in previous publications. It is not the purpose of 

this report to give a comprehensive account of all known localities of 

Tertiary rocks in the area, but those furnishing the most complete 

sequence of strata, those furnishing paleontologic data, and those 

which for other reasons are of especial interest will be described.

The Tertiary is represented by the Eocene series and, questionably, 

by the Pliocene series.

EOCENE SERIES. 

FORMATIONS DIFFERENTIATED.

The Eocene deposits of the area have been differentiated only 

imperfectly, chiefly owing to lack of sufficient paleontologic data; 

however, evidence has been obtained to show the presence of strata 

representing the Midway, Wilcox, Claiborne, and Jackson formations.

The Midway formation outcrops along the western border of the 

Coastal Plain in the vicinity of Little Rock, Pulaski County, and
GEOLOGY. 45

in Lonoke, White, Jackson, and Independence counties. TJndifferentiated strata of Eocene age outcrop, in an elevated area in the northwestern part of Lonoke County.

Strata of Eocene age outcrop in places along the border of the 

Coastal Plain upland southwest of Arkansas River. These strata 

include the Midway formation in Pulaski County; undifferentiated 

Eocene strata in Pulaski, Sabine, Grant, and Jefferson counties; and 

the Jackson formation in Jefferson, Cleveland, and Lincoln counties.

The core of Crowleys Eidge, from a few feet to 100 feet or more 

above the level of the lowlands both east and west, is composed of 

irregularly and regularly bedded sands and clays, interbedded with 

subordinate layers and lenses of lignite. These deposits are of 

Eocene age and on the evidence of fossil plants and invertebrates 

may be roughly differentiated, in the ascending order of their age, 

into the Wilcox formation, the Claiborne formation, and the Jackson 

formation.

By combining paleontologic and physical criteria an attempt has 

been made to determine the areal distribution of each of the formations named, but the mapping is confessedly only an approximation 

to the true distribution.

MIDWAY FORMATION. 

GENEBAL FEATURES.

Name. The name Midway 1 was first used by Smith and Johnson 

in 1887 for light-colored argillaceous limestone with projecting ledges 

and yellowish sands, exposed at Midway Landing and on Pine Barren 

Creek in Wilcox County, Ala., and traceable westward through Wil1 The principal contributions to the subject of the Midway formation are listed below.

Smith, E. A., and Johnson, L. C., Tertiary and Cretaceous strata of the Tuscaloosa, 

Tombigbee, and Alabama rivers: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 43, pp. 62-67, 70, 1887.

Langdon, D, W., Geological section along the Chattahoochee River from Columbus to 

Alum Bluff: Georgia Geol. Survey First Report Progress, p. 95, 1891.

 Variations in the Cretaceous and Tertiary strata of Alabama: Geol. Soc. America Bull., vol. 2, pp. 594, 595, 1891.

Spencer, J. W., Geological report on southwest Georgia: Georgia Geol. Survey First 

Report Progress, pp. 44-46, 1891.

Harris, G. D., The Tertiary geology of southwestern Arkansas: Arkansas Geol. Sarvey 

Ann. Rept. for 1892, vol. 2, pp. 8, 9, 22-54, 1894.

 The Midway stage: Bull. Am. Paleontology, vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 115-270 (1-156), 

1896.

Ball, W. H., A table of the North American Tertiary horizons, correlated with one another and with those of western Europe, with annotations: U. S. Geol. Survey Eighteenth 

Ann. Rept., pt. 2, p. 346, 1898.

Harris, G. D., and Veatch, A. C., A preliminary report on the geology of Louisiana: 

Louisiana Geol. Survey, pt. 5, pp. 63-73, 1899.

Vaughan, T. W., The Eocene and lower Oligocene coral faunas of the United States: 

U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 39, p. 25, 1900.

Veatch, Otto, and Stephenson, L. W., Tertiary and Quaternary [Georgia] : Georgia Geol. 

Survey Bull. 26, pp. 216-226, 1911.

Vaughan, T. W., Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas [Eocene of] : U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. 

Paper 71, pp. 723-725, 1912.
46 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

cox and Marengo counties to Tombigbee River. The terrane as thus 

defined formed the basal member of the so-called " Lignitic " and 

rested on the Cretaceous. In 1894 Harris redefined the application of 

the name, making it include all the beds between the top of the Cretaceous and the base of the "Lignitic," the latter name being restricted to the lignite and leaf-bearing clays and sands. He says:

The term " Midway series " was used by Smith and Johnson in 1887 to designate a calcareous formation lying at the base of the Eocene of Alabama, and was 

classified by them as a subdivision of the "Lignitic" (Eolignitic of Heilprin). 

Owing, however, to its persistent nature, occurring, interruptedly to be sure, from 

Georgia to western Texas, and to its generally marked lithological and paleontological differences from the remainder of " Lignitic " deposits, it seems advisable to make the terms of coordinate rank.

In a footnote he adds:

It is quite probable that the Black Bluff and Matthews Landing beds in Alabama should be classed in the Midway stage.

The Flatwoods clays of Hilgard * in Mississippi, the Porters Creek 

group of Safford 2 in Tennessee, and the Middleton formation of Saff ord 3 in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama, represent parts or all 

of the Midway formation.

Areal distribution. In Arkansas the Midway formation has been 

traced in surface outcrops in a belt a few miles wide, extending from 

a point near Rockport, on Ouachita River (west of Malvern), in Hot 

Springs County, northeastward along the western border of the Gulf 

Coastal Plain to Little Rock, Pulaski County. Northeast of Little 

Rock the formation has been recognized in wells and in outcrops at 

the following places: Questionably in a well at Jacksonville, Pulaski 

County; in wells and in outcrops at and near Cabot, Lonoke County; 

questionably in a well at Beebe, White County; in outcrops in an area 

not exceeding one-half mile in width, extending from the vicinity of 

Bradford, White County, to Depart Creek, in the southern part of 

Independence County.

East of Mississippi River the Midway formation outcrops in a belt 

a few miles wide extending from central Georgia along the southern 

border of the area of outcrop of the Upper Cretaceous westward 

through Alabama and northward through Mississippi to Hardeman 

County, Tenn. From Hardeman County northward through Tennessee and Kentucky to southern Illinois the Midway is represented 

at least in part by the Porters Creek clay.

1 Hilgard, E. W., Agriculture and geology of Mississippi, 1860, pp. 110, 111: Am. Assoc. 

Adv. Sci. Proc., vol. 20, p. 222, 1871; Am. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 2, p. 391, 1871.

2 Safford, J. M., The Cretaceous and Superior formations of west Tennessee: Am. Jour. 

Sci., 2d ser., vol. 37, pp. 368, 369, 1864.

^Safford, J. M., Notes on the Middleton formation of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama : Geol. Soc. America Bull,, vol. 3, pp. 511, 512, 1891.
GEOLOGY. 47

Stratigraphic relations. The formation in Arkansas rests upon 

strata of Upper Cretaceous age, except immediately along the western 

border of the Mississippi embayment, where the beds overlap slightly 

on the Paleozoic rocks. This relation is determined on the evidence 

of Cretaceous fossils found in wells at Beebe, White County; at Cabot, 

Lonoke County; and at Little Rock, Pulaski County; and on the 

occurrence of strata of probable Cretaceous age immediately beneath 

beds of undoubted Midway age in outcrops at Little Rock. The 

nature of the contact between the Cretaceous and the Midway formation has not been determined by observation, but from paleontologic 

evidence the relation may be inferred to be that of nonconformity. 

The same marked f aunal contrast exists here between the Upper Cretaceous and the Midway formation as exists in Alabama between the 

Ripley formation and the Midway formation, which are known to be 

separated by an unconformity of regional extent.

Southwest of Arkansas River the Midway formation is overlain 

by undifferentiated strata of Eocene age. Northeast of Arkansas 

River, along the western border of the Mississippi embayment, the 

formation is overlain in part by undifferentiated strata of Eocene age, 

in part by deposits of questionable Pliocene age (Lafayette formation) , and in part by Quaternary alluvial deposits.

Lithologic characters. The formation in Arkansas consists of gray, 

more or less sandy and argillaceous limestones, some layers of which 

are crystalline, interbedded with calcareous sand or friable sandstone 

and marl. Fossil mollusks and shark teeth characterize the terrane, 

and in places the molluscan remains are present in great numbers, 

either intact, in fragments, or as casts and impressions.

Strike, dip, and thickness. The strike of the strata composing the 

Midway formation in Arkansas is approximately northeast-southwest, parallel to the western border of the Mississippi embayment. 

In single outcrops, all of which are small, the beds appear to be nearly 

horizontal; probably, however, they dip slightly to the southeast 

at right angles to the border of the Ozark province, this being the 

general attitude of the Eocene strata of the embayment with respect 

to the bordering Paleozoic rim. The formation doubtless extends 

southeastward beneath the younger Eocene and the Quaternary 

deposits and reaches greater depths in that direction.

The maximum observed thickness of the formation in the area is 

in a cut of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway, onefourth mile south of Grandglaise, Lonoke County, where 22 feet of 

strata is exposed.

Physiographic expression. Where exposed in White, Lonoke, and 

Independence counties the formation forms the base of a more or 

less clearly defined terrace or ridge, designated the Grandglaise ter-
48 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

race, the crest of which is 250 to 290 feet above sea level, or 40 to 80 

feet above the level of the lowland to the east. The preservation of 

this erosion remnant is due, at least in part, to the relatively resistant 

character of the limestones of the formation.

Paleontologic character. The formation is fossiliferous, yielding 

chiefly mollusks, although shark teeth are fairly abundant locally, 

and occasional fragments of crustaceans and echinoids have been 

found. The mollusks vary in their state of preservation from nearly 

perfect specimens to traces and fragments or molds and casts.

A list of the species identified from the formation is given in the 

discussion of correlation on page 53.

LOCAL DETAILS.

Pulaski County. The Midway formation is exposed at numerous 

places in Little Rock and from Little Rock southwestward through 

Pulaski and Saline counties nearly to Rockport (west of Malvern) 

in Hot Springs County; in the same belt the formation is frequently 

reached in wells. Harris 1 has compiled the available data on this 

area, including the results of his own observations. The most complete section given by him is on Fourche Creek near the mouth of 

Crooked Creek, 8 or 9 miles southwest of Little Rock, in the NW. \ 

SW. i sec. 8, T. 1 S., R. is W. He describes the locality in substance as follows:

Section on Fourche Creek, near the mouth of Crooked Creek, Pulaski County.

Feet.

Soil_____________________________________ 2

Yellowish and gray, more or less friable limestone; replete 

with Enclimatoceras ulrichi varying in size; the exterior 

of many of the fossils stained brownish by iron oxide__ 1$

Light-gray limestone containing innumerable specimens of 

Ostrea pulasJcensis Harris_____________________ 3

Light-yellowish and gray, somewhat sandy limestone, honeycombed and cavernous on weathered surface; at. base replete with specimens of Turritella mortoni Conrad____ 81

Light-yellowish calcareous sandstone forming a ledge __ 2f

White and black sand, tinged with yellow on the exterior, 

containing scattered blue nodules____ 2

Black shale exposed only at times of very low water ?

19*4-

1 Harris, G. D., The Midway stage: Bull. Am. Paleontology, vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 130-13S 

(16-18), 1896.
GEOLOGY. 49

Fossils specifically identified from this locality are: 

Fossils from Fourche Creek, near tJie mouth of Crooked Creek, Pulaski County.

Cucullsea macrodonta Whitfield. 

Ostrea crenulimarginata Gabb. 

Ostrea pulaskensis Harris. 

Venericardia planicosta Lamarck. 

Calyptraphorus velatus Conrad. 

Natica alabamiensis Whitfield. 

Turritella mortoni Conrad.

Turritella multilira Whitfield. 

Turritella alabamiensis Whitfield. 

Potamides alabamiensis Whitfield. 

Tubulostium dickhauti White. 

Enclimatoceras ulrichi White. 

Callianassa ulrichi White.

Northeast of Little Rock the formation is thought to have been 

encountered in a well at Jacksonville located on the property of A. J. 

McBride and drilled in 1904; a log of this well has been furnished by 

the owner and is given on page 259. The limestone penetrated between the depths 70 and 82 feet probably belongs to the Midway 

formation.

Lonoke County. In the vicinity of Cabot, Lonoke County, a limestone belonging to the Midway formation is known to occur at the 

surface, and limestones and marl, probably belonging in part to this 

formation, are encountered in numerous wells and cisterns. However, some of the marls penetrated in wells have been shown to belong 

to the Upper Cretaceous, which underlies the Midway. (See p. 

40.) Logs of two wells a,t Cabot are given on page 217.

Harris* gives the following data:

Farther to the southwest, in Lonoke County, the Midway stage appears in the 

vicinity of Cabot. A specimen of more or less friable limestone collected by the 

survey is filled with fragments of oyster shells.

On the line between sec. 18, T. 4 N., R. 9 W., and sec. 13, T. 4 N., R. 10 W., 

midway of the line (station 2230), Mr. J. A. Taff obtained specimens of: 

Ostrea (young shells). 

Turritella mortoni (cast). 

Shark teeth and vertebrae. 

Fragment of light-gray firm limestone.

Mr. E. C. Buchanan collected at T. 3 N., R. 11 W., sec. 12, NW. } of SW. i, 

about 600 feet northwest of Henry's store (station 2444), a specimen of limestone closely resembling those obtained at station 2436 [near Bradford, White 

County], though no fossils besides Ostrea are determinable in it.

White County. At Beebe, White County, and for a mile or so 

west of that place, marl which may be referable in part to the Midway formation is struck in wells at depths of 25 to 40 feet. Upper 

Cretaceous fossils have been recognized, however, in specimens of 

marl from this place, and it is certain that the Midway, if present, is 

underlain by the Cretaceous. (See p. 40.)

1 Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. Kept, for 1892, vol. 2, pp. 25, 26, 1894. 

11674° WSP 399 16 4
50 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Call x has published a section constructed by combining a section 

exposed in a prospecting shaft, near Beebe, and the log of a near-by 

well. He says:

About 60 miles north of the Arkansas River localities just mentioned, near 

the village of Beebe, in White County, in T. 5 N., R. 8 W., SW. J of SW. i of 

sec. 5, there is exhibited a very instructive section in a shaft sunk to reach 

Eocene shell marls for commercial purposes. The locality is on the farm of Mr. 

Cyrus Heller. To the section as shown in the shaft there is added the record 

of a well driven a few hundred feet southwest of it. The position of the section 

near the western limit of the Tertiary area, which is less than 2 miles away, 

renders it of exceptional interest.

The section given by Call is in substance as follows:

Combined section of an exposure in a prospecting shaft near Beebe and the

log of a near-by well.

Whitish sandy clay, grading downward into red clay; in lower half, scattered pebbles of

Light-colored stratified sandy clay containing an abundance of white chert pebbles and 

a few white sandstone pebbles. ........................................................

Argillaceous material with comminuted shell fragments; contains fragments of DentaBlue argillaceous material, with scattered pockets of greensand, containing an abundance of broken marine shells and a few perfect ones; recognized Venericardia plani-

(Unconformity).

Thickness.

Feet. 

1

10

4

13

1

35

47

Depth.

Feet. 

1

11

15

28

29

64

111

The marl between the depths 29 and 64 feet is probably separable 

into two parts, the upper representing the Midway formation, from 

which the Tertiary fossils recognized by Call were taken, and the 

lower representing the Upper Cretaceous, from which the specimen of 

marl mentioned by Harris (p. 40) was taken.

In the northern part of the county, near the town of Bradford, on 

the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway, limestone of the 

Midway formation appears at the base of the narrow terrace or ridge 

known as the Grandglaise terrace. Northward from Bradford the 

first outcrops of the limestones are on the south and north side of a 

small creek which cuts the terrace, and from this place northward 

through Jackson County to the southern part of Independence 

County there are numerous outcrops of the rocks. The formation 

consists of ledges of limestone interbedded with gray calcareous unconsolidated sand.

The town of Bradford is underlain by the limestone which is encountered in wells; in a well on the property of W. D. Plant the rock

1 Call, R. E., The geology of Crowleys Ridge: Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. Rept. for 

1889, vol. 2, pp. 14-17, 1891.
GEOLOGY. 51

was reached at a depth of 20 feet and extended to a depth of 40 feet, 

where shale of Paleozoic age was encountered. 

The following is a generalized section of the terrace at Bradford:

Generalized section at Bradford.

Feet.

Top of terrace capped with gravel (Lafayette formation?).

Red calcareous clay (Eocene)__________________ 5-10

Gray calcareous clay (Eocene)________________ 5-20

Layers of limestone interbedded with unconsolidated sand

(Midway formation)______________________ 20±

Thin layer of gravel consisting of pebbles and cobbles of 

soft brown sandstone which range in size up to 6 or 8 

inches in diameter, with an average diameter of one-half 

to 1 inch; these are derived from rocks of Paleozoic age_ $-1

Unconformity.

Sandstone and shale of Paleozoic age___________ 1+

West of Bradford the Midway formation rests against the Paleozoic rocks along a steep eastward-sloping contact which probably 

represents an ancient sea cliff.

Along the east side of the Grandglaise terrace at Bradford the 

alluvial deposits of the Advance lowland rest unconformably against 

the Midway strata; here also the contact slopes steeply eastward 

and represents an erosion cliff produced by the meandering of Pleistocene and Recent streams which traversed the lowland.

Harris 1 gives the following data in regard to exposures near 

Bradford:

At an old limestone quarry by the side of the railway, If miles north of 

Bradford, specimens of Turritella mortoni composed of crystalline calcite are 

of frequent occurrence; an indistinct cast of a cardium was also noted at the 

last-named locality.

One-eighth of a mile nearer Bradford, perhaps 200 yards west of the railway 

track, many bowlders of highly crystalline limestone are strewn about in a 

field. Besides innumerable fragments of molluscan forms, this limestone 

incloses rounded pebbles of greenish sandy shale with major diameters in some 

instances of no less than 2 inches. The recognizable fossils are:

Ostrea prse-compressirostra Harris [=O. crenulimarginata Gabb].

Venericardia planicosta Lamarck (small).

Psammobia (large and ill defined).

Jackson County. The Grandglaise terrace is well developed in the 

vicinity of Grandglaise, Jackson County, although at most places 

small branch valleys partly separate the terrace from the Paleozoic 

rocks to the west. The following section of the Midway formation

1 Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. Kept, for 1892, vol. 2, p. 25, 1894.
52 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

is exposed in a cut of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway one-fourth mile southwest of the station (see PL V, A):

Section in a cut of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway one-quarter 

mile south of Grandglaise.

Feet. 

Top of hill and slope covered with brownish sandy loam

and overgrown with vegetation______________ 25 

Midway formation:

2. Limestone in layers 1 to 1| feet thick, interbedded with 

thinner layers of soft gray calcareous sand; the 

limestone contains small greenish pebbles of sandstone which are particularly abundant in layers 5 to 

8 feet above the base; the upper and lower surfaces 

of the limestone layers present numerous rounded 

and irregular concretionary projections which extend 

upward and downward into the intervening layers of 

sand; the limestones contain an abundance of imperfectly preserved fossil remains, among which T. W. 

Vaughan has identified the following: Belanophyllia 

sp., Tornatellcea bella Conrad, Turritella mortoni 

Conrad, and Mesalia pumila (Gabb) (field No. 

272) _______________________________ 22 

1. Concealed to the level of the Advance lowland_____ 10

57

The following is another section exposed about one-half mile 

southwest of Grandglaise; the part of the section above the limestone 

is obscured by weathering and is difficult to interpret:

Section exposed in a south-facing slope and railroad cutting just west of the 

St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway, about one-half mile south of 

Grandglaise.

Pleistocene (loess?) : Feet. 

6. Slope concealed by vegetation_______________ 10

5. Reddish massive, finely arenaceous and argillaceous 

loam resembling loess in texture; appears to grade 

downward into the next layer_____ _ __ 12 

Pliocene (?) (Lafayetteformation) :

4. Red ferruginous argillaceous pebbly sand becoming 

very pebbly in the basal 1 to 2 feet; the pebbles consist of greenish sandstone and chert not exceeding 

2 or 3 inches in diameter and not averaging over 

one-half inch in diameter___ _ __ 5 

Eocene (?) (Midway formation?) :

3. Massive greenish-gray fine sand, oxidized to red in

upper portion___________ 8

Eocene (Midway formation) :

2. Limestone interbedded with sand, corresponding to the

limestone described in the preceding section __ 5 

1. Concealed to the level of the Advance lowland- ____ 10

50
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 399 PLATE V

A. PEBBLY LIMESTONE WITH INTERBEDDED LAYERS OF CALCAREOUS SAND BELONGING TO 

THE MIDWAY FORMATION, ON THE ST. LOUIS, IRON MOUNTAIN & SOUTHERN RAILWAY A 

QUARTER OF A MILE SOUTH OF GRANDGLAISE, JACKSON COUNTY.

B. SANDS, CLAYS, AND LIGNITES OF THE WILCOX FORMATION ON BOLIVAR CREEK NEAR ITS 

POINT OF EMERGENCE FROM CROWLEYS RIDGE, 3^ MILES NORTH OF HARRISBURG, POINSETT COUNTY.

53

Exposures of limestone of the Midway formation, ranging from 

poor to fair, were observed along the eastward-facing slope of the 

Grandglaise terrace for a distance of about 2| miles southwest of 

Grandglaise.

About one-half mile west of Grandglaise there is a poor exposure 

of limestone belonging to the Midway formation at the foot of the 

northwest-facing slope of a small branch valley which partially 

separates the ridge from the Paleozoic hills to the west.

Harris x gives the following data regarding two localities south of 

Grandglaise in Jackson County:

Going southward toward Bradford the limestone ledges become more and 

more fossiliferous. Dr. J. C. Branner, in 1887, collected specimens from two 

points in this vicinity, giving as localities " Between 2 and 3 miles north of 

Bradford on the Iron Mountain Railway," and " Two miles north of Bradford 

on the Iron Mountain Railway." The former (station 2223, U. S. National 

Museum register) consist of light-gray limestone fragments holding on their 

ferruginated exterior numerous specimens of Turritella mortoni (composed of 

calcite) and coral.

At the latter locality (station 2229) the following forms were recognized: 

Ostrea sp. (young). 

Cytherea sp. (a cast). 

Turritella mortoni Conrad.

Independence County. The Midway formation extends from 

Jackson County northward into the southern part of Independence 

County. Harris 2 says:

In Arkansas the Midway stage forms a low, terrace-like elevation on the 

northeast flank of the Paleozoic upland just to the south and southwest of 

Bayou Departe, Independence County.

CORRELATION.

The fossils of the terrane have been studied chiefly by Harris 1 

and also by T. Wayland Vaughan. They have identified the following species:

Fossils from the Midway formation of Arkansas.

Belanophyllia sp. (identified by

Vaughan).

Cucullsea macrodonta Whitfield. 

Ostrea crenulimarginata Gabb. 

Ostrea pulaskensis Harris. 

Pecten alabamiensis Aldrich. 

Venericardia planicosta Lamarck. 

Calyptraphorus velatus (Conrad). 

Tornatella bella Conrad (identified by

Vaughan). 

Natica alabamiensis Whitfield.

Turritella alabamiensis Whitfield. 

Turritella mortoni Conrad. 

Turritella multilira Whitfield. 

Mesalia pumila (Gabb) (identified by

Vaughan).

Potamides alabamiensis Whitfield. 

Tubulostium dickhauti White. 

Volutilithes limopsis Conrad? 

Volutilithes petrosa (Conrad)? 

Enclimatoceras ulrichi White. 

Calianassa ulrichi White.

1 Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. Kept, for 1892, vol. 2, pp. 24, 25, 1894. 

8 Idem, p. 24.
54 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Harris, on the evidence of the species identified by him, has 

correlated the formation in Arkansas with the Midway formation of 

Alabama.

Of the fossils from the section one-quarter mile southwest of 

Grandglaise (p. 52) Vaughan states:

The species are all known to occur in both the Midway and the overlying 

Wilcox, but Mesalia pumila Gabb does not range above the basal Wilcox; the 

collection offers no evidence opposed to the correlation of Harris.

WILCOX FORMATION.

GENERAL MATURES.

Name. The name Wilcox is derived from Wilcox County, Ala., 

and was proposed by A. F. Crider 1 in 1906 for 850 feet of " highly 

stratified, siliceous sands, laminated clays of various colors interstratified in places with beds of lignite, and lignitic clays," interposed between the Midway group below and the Claiborne group 

above.

Other terms which have been applied to the formation defined 

by Crider are " Northern Lignitic group," 2 which is objectionable

1 Geology and mineral resources of Mississippi: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 283, pp. 25-28, 

1906.

2 Literature on the " Lignitic group " :

Safford^ James M., Geological reconnaissance of the State of Tennessee: First report, 

pp. 162-163, 1856.

Hilgard, E. W., A report on the geology and agriculture of the State of Mississippi, 

pp. 110-123, 1860.

Hilgard, E. W., On the Tertiary formations of Mississippi and Alabama: Am. Jour. Sci., 

2d ser., vol. 43, pp. 34-39, 1867.

Hilgard, E. W., Geological history of the Gulf of Mexico : Am. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 2, 

pp. 394-396, 1871.

Smith, E. A., Summary of the lithological and stratigraphical features and subdivisions 

of the Tertiary of Alabama: Introduction to Alabama Geol. Survey Bull. 1, pp. 10-14, 

1886.

Smith, E. A., and Johnson, L. C., On the Tertiary and Cretaceous strata of the Tuscaloosa, Tombigbee, and Alabama rivers : U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 43, pp. 18, 38-67, 1887.

Loughridge, R. H., Report on the geological and economic features of the Jackson Purchase region: Kentucky Geol. Survey, pp. 41-52, 1888.

Spencer, J. W., Geological report on southwest Georgia: Georgia Geol. Survey First 

Rept. progress, p. 43, 1891.

McGee, W J, The Lafayette formation: U. S. Geol. Survey Twelfth Ann. Kept., pt. 1, 

pp. 415-418, 1891.

Clark, W. B., Correlation papers Eocene: TJ. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 83, 173 pp., 1891.

Harris, G. D., The Tertiary geology of southern Arkansas: Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. 

Rept., 1892, vol. 2, pp. 55-86, 1894.

Smith, E. A., Phosphates and marls of Alabama: Alabama Geol. Survey Bull. 2, pp. 

47-50, 1892.

Smith, E. A., Langdon, D. W., and Johnson, L. C., On the geology of the Coastal Plain 

of Alabama: Alabama Geol. Survey Bull., pt. 1, pp. 147-192, 198-202, 488-491, 1894.

Vaughan, T. Wayland, The stratigraphy of northwestern Louisiana: Am. Geologist, vol. 

15, p. 209, 1895.

Harris, G. D., The lignitic stage: Bull. Am. Paleontology, vol. 2, No. 9, pp. 1-36, 1897.

Harris, G. D., and Veatch, A. C., A preliminary report on the geology of Louisiana : 

Louisiana Geol. Survey, pt. 5, pp. 64-73, 1899.
GEOLOGY. 55

because it is a lithologic and not a geographic term; Lagrange,1 a 

term of broader significance than WilcoXj as it is known to include 

strata of Wilcox, Claiborne, and probably Jackson age; and " Chickasawan formation," 2 -also a term of broader significance than Wilcox.

The extension of the Wilcox formation into Georgia has been described by Veatch and Stephenson.3

A summary statement regarding the occurrence of the Wilcox 

formation in southwest Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas has been 

given by Vaughan.4

Areal distribution. The Wilcox formation outcrops in the basal 

portion of the east and west slopes of Crowleys Eidge and in the 

valley slopes of the larger streams cutting the ridge, from the 

vicinity of Harrisburg, Poinsett County, northward through Arkansas and Missouri to the northern extremity of the ridge in Stoddard County, Mo. East of Mississippi Eiver the formation outcrops in a belt extending from west-central Georgia westward through 

Alabama and northward through Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky to southern Illinois. From northern Mississippi northward the 

formation has not been accurately differentiated from the overlying 

deposits of Claiborne and Jackson age, all of which are included in 

the Lagrange formation.

Str&tigrapMc relations. The basal portion of the formation in 

Arkansas does not appear at the surface, and for this reason- its 

relations to underlying older formations have not been observed. 

However, from general considerations it is believed that the formation rests upon either older Eocene strata corresponding in age to the 

Midway formation or, if these are absent, upon strata of Upper 

Cretaceous age. At the northern extremity of Crowleys Eidge 

the terrane laps over upon rocks of Paleozoic age. Toward the 

southern limit of its areal extent in Crowleys Eidge the formation is 

overlain, probably unconformably, by the Claiborne formation.

Throughout its extent in Crowleys Eidge the formation is overlain 

unconformably by irregularly bedded sands and gravels belonging to 

the Lafayette formation (Pliocene?), or by disturbed materials derived from the Lafayette formation and the loess, which have found 

their way down over the slopes of the ridge by either redeposition, 

creep, or landslide.

Lithologic characters. The formation in Crowleys Eidge is composed of irregularly bedded sands, locally indurated to sandstones

1 Safford, J. M., Geology of Tennessee, pp. 424-426, Nashville, 1869.

2 Ball, W. H., A table of the North American Tertiary horizons, correlated with one another and with those of western Europe: U. S. Geol. Survey Eighteenth Ann. Kept., pt. 2, 

pp. 344-345, 1898.

3 Veatch, Otto, and Stephenson, L. W., Tertiary and Quaternary [Georgia] : Georgia 

Geol. Survey Bull. 26, pp. 226-235.

* Vaughan, T. W., U. S. Geol. Survey Prof Paper 71, pp. 725, 726, 1912.
56 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

and quartzites, and irregularly bedded clays, with interbedded layers 

of lignite. From Jonesboro northward there are no exposures showing the complete sequence of strata composing the ridge, but from 

numerous small exposures examined in the area it seems apparent 

that the heavier beds of clay all occur at the base of the ridge and that 

beds of sand predominate above the clays. The clays vary in color 

from almost white to very dark, are lignitic in places, and in places 

are interbedded with layers of fairly pure lignite. Silicified stumps 

and logs have been observed in clay at one locality in the northern 

part of Greene County (p. 58).

The sands where unweathered are light in color, but on weathered 

surfaces are varicolored, presenting many shades between white and 

dark red or brown. Locally the sands have been indurated to sandstones, ranging in hardness from very soft rock to extremely hard 

quartzites. These rocks are exposed principally along the west slope 

of the ridge from Craighead County northeastward to the southern 

part of Clay County. The distribution of the quartzites in Arkansas 

is discussed in detail by Call.1 (See also p. 61 of this report.) Marbut 2 has described similar quartzites near the northern extremity of 

the ridge in Stoddard County, Mo.

As shown by the Bolivar Creek exposure, 3| miles north of Harrisburg (p. 62), the sands in the upper part of the formation become 

finer and more argillaceous than those at lower levels.

Strike, dip, and thickness. Owing to the irregular bedding of 

the deposits composing the formation and also to the paucity of exposures, the strike of the strata can not be determined by observation; it is inferred, however, from the general structure of the embayment that the beds strike about northeast-southwest and dip to the 

southeast at the rate of a few feet per mile.

No data are available for determining the thickness of the terrane. 

In Mississippi the thickness was estimated by Crider to be 850 feet. 

Wells at Jonesboro, Craighead County, Ark. (1,265 feet deep), and 

at Campbell, Dunklin County, Mo. (960 feet deep), probably passed 

entirely through the formation and entered underlying older formations, but the information furnished by the wells is not sufficient to 

determine the position of the contact. Probably the thickness is not 

less than 500 feet nor greater than 1,000 feet.

Physiographic expression. From Poinsett County northward the 

formation makes up the basal portion of Crowleys Bidge, and the 

steep and rugged character of the western side of the ridge is due, at

1 Call, R. E., The geology of Crowleys Ridge: Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. Rept. for 

1889, vol. 2, pp. 90-102, 1891.

2 Marbut, C. F., The evolution of the northern part of the lowlands of southeastern 

Missouri: Missouri Univ. Studies, vol. 1, No. 3, p. 26, 1902.
GEOLOGY. 57

least in part, to the interbedded masses of quartzite and the heavy 

beds of clay which outcrop in places along the lower slopes. Theexistence of this part of the ridge is doubtless due to the resistance 

offered by the Wilcox strata to the meandering and actively eroding 

rivers of Pleistocene and Recent times. The present detailed surface features of the ridge, however, are determined mainly by the 

younger Lafayette formation and the loess which cap and blanket the 

greater part of the crest and slopes.

Paleontologic character. The formation has yielded fossil leaves at 

three localities (see pp. 58, 59, 62); at the two more northerly localities the fossils exist as poor to well-preserved impressions in soft sandstone. At the Bolivar Creek locality (p. 62) leaf impressions and 

lignitized leaves are contained in chocolate-colored clays. Lignite 

is common in the formation, and a few beds of lignite a few inches to 

5 feet in thickness have been observed or have been penetrated in 

wells in the area. In places the quartzites and sandstones of the 

formation are perforated with small cavities believed to be the 

impressions of rootlets. Silicified stumps of trees and logs have been 

observed in clay at one place (p. 58). A list of the species of fossil 

plants found in the formation is given on page 63 of this report.

LOCAL DETAILS.

Missouri. Marbut 1 has described clays (or shales) and sands, 

probably belonging to the Wilcox formation, which constitute the 

basal portion of Crowleys Ridge in its northern extension in Missouri. The clays where observed outcrop in the base of the ridge 

and range in color from gray to black. They are overlain by irregularly bedded sands, which are locally indurated to sandstones and 

quartzites.

Clay County. The most northerly exposure of the formation in Arkansas, and probably the lowest one stratigraphically, is 

at Chalk Bluff, on St. Francis River, in the northeastern part of 

Clay County. Call 2 describes this bluff as follows:

The summit is crowned with fine gravel and coarse sands. The sands are 

all variegated, more or less indurated, false bedded where seen in good section, 

and are separated by thin strata of white and drab pipe clays into two or three 

beds of variable thickness. In places on the steeper and barren hillsides this 

clay is washed over the face of the hills and gives to them a white appearance, 

which doubtless gave the place the name of Chalk Bluff. Along the river front 

and in the deeper ravines of the east face of the bluff are the regularly stratified bluish and drab-colored clays of Tertiary age, containing a few fragments

1 Marbut, C. F., The evolution of the northern part of the lowlands of southeastern 

Missouri : Missouri Univ. Studies, vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 21-27, 1902.

2 Call, R. E.j The geology of Crowleys Ridge: Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. Rept. for 

1889, vol. 2, p. US, 1891.
58 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

of lignite. No fossils of any sort were to be found. Erosion has been great 

enough to expose these clays along the river banks and to a height of 35 to 40 

ieet in the deep ravines.

A small exposure of fossiliferous sandstone on the west-facing 

slope of Crowleys Ridge, 3 or 4 miles southwest of Boydsville, Clay 

County, is of much geologic interest. The outcrop is in the woods at 

the head of a small ravine about 100 yards west of the old BoydsvilleGainesville road and about one-fourth mile southwest of the point 

where the road crosses a small branch, the valley of which is cut 

down almost to the level of the lowland to the west. The exposure 

is inconspicuous, and anyone seeking the place should search along 

the slope from the branch just mentioned southward, following up 

each small ravine until he finds the outcrop.

The material consists of about 6 feet of soft, friable, stratified 

sandstone, splitting fairly well along the bedding planes and containing an abundance of well-preserved leaf impressions. The base 

of the exposure is 20 or 25 feet above the level of the lowland west 

of Crowleys Ridge and about 80 feet lower than the highest point 

of the road immediately to the east.

The locality was visited by E. W. Berry and the senior author, and 

the following species, identified by Mr. Berry, were collected:

Fossil plants from Crowleys Ridge, 3 or 4 miles southwest of Boydsville, Clay

County.

Anemia eocenica Berry.1 

Banksia tenuifolia Berry.1 

Dryophyllum tennesseensis Berry.1 

Nectranda lowei Berry.1

Mr. Berry states that these species are all common in the Wilcox 

formation of the eastern Gulf region.

Greene County. Silicified stumps and logs of trees in clay of the 

Wilcox formation in the SW. i SW. I sec. 35, T. 19 N., R. 5 E., have 

been described by Call.2 This locality is on the west slope of the 

ridge near the valley of Cache River, 6 or 7 miles north of Gainesville. Call says:

A hill of Tertiary blue clay rises about 40 feet above the bottomlands at this 

place. In cross section these clays are regularly and horizontally stratified, 

with little or no sand. Imbedded in this clay near the summit of the hill is 

a large stump of silicified wood, in place as it grew, with all its roots still 

imbedded and ramifying in every direction. Some 50 feet away, and at a 

point a little lower, occurs another stump, similarly disposed, and near at hand 

are two or three silicified logs. In the banks of a small stream about 300 feet 

south are many fragments of silicified woods, some of which are very large. 

The largest of these stumps has a diameter of 4 feet, and some of the logs are

1 For description of this new species see Berry, E. W,, The lower Eocene floras of southeastern North America: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91 (in press), 

a Call, R. E., op. cit., p. 102.
GEOLOGY. 59

scarcely smaller. The complete erosion of the overlying Pleistocene and the 

upper members of the Tertiary sands leaves this hill a singular feature of the 

ridge. Nothing like it has been seen elsewhere. A thin soil covers the clays, 

and this supports a stunted growth of oaks. Samples of this wood were examined by Prof. Knowltori and were found to represent a new species, to which 

he has given the name Cupressinoxylon calli.

An exposure of lignite in the Wilcox formation not far from the 

preceding is described by Call 1 as follows:

In sec. 36, T. 19 N., B. 6 E. [R. 5 E. (?)], in a small stream which is but a 

few feet above the general level of the Cache bottoms, is an outcrop of lignite 

about 3 feet in thickness. The outcrop is in the base of the hill and the bed 

disappears beneath the surface of the water. It is quite black when wet, but 

dries to a brownish black. It crumbles into small fragments on exposure to 

the air. Above it are about 15 feet of Tertiary clays, and above these the usual 

Orange sands [Wilcox]. A short distance down the stream it is underlain by 

a bed of light-drab fire clay.

Another exposure of fossiliferous rock similar to the Boydsville 

locality is near Hardys Mill, 3 or 4 miles west of Gainesville, Greene 

County, in sec. 30, T. 18 N., E. 5 E. Call 2 describes this locality 

as follows:

It is about one-half mile from Hardys Mill and on the face of a steep hill 

fronting west. The outcrop is a coarse sandstone, capped by a compact, finegrained, very hard sandstone containing numerous casts and impressions of 

vegetable origin. While there is a rude resemblance to certain forms of water 

plants in the character and arrangement of these remains, there is not left 

sufficient structure on which to base an opinion as to their real affinities. But 

below this siliceous layer there is a heavy layer of sandstone of coarser 

texture, and not so much metamorphosed, in which occur numerous remains 

of fossil plants. Those remains are mainly in the form of impressions of leaves 

of dicotyledonous plants.

Call collected specimens of fossil plants from this locality and 

sent them to the U. S. National Museum. The collection was recently examined by E. W. Berry, who identified the following species:

Fossil plants from near Hardys Mill, Greene County.

Aralia notata Lesquereux. 

Cinnamomum postnewberryi Berry.8 

Ficus eolignitica Berry.8

Ficus vaughani Berry.8 

Pteris eolignitica Berry.8

Berry states that one of the forms enumerated occurs in the Fort 

Union formation of the western interior and that the remainder are 

common in the Wilcox formation of the eastern Gulf region.

1 Call, B. E., op. cit, p. 103. 

8 Idem, pp. 95, 96.

3 For description of this new species see Berry, E. W., The lower Eocene floras of southeastern North America: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91 (in press).
60 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Another "section described by Call* in sec. 30, T. 18 N., E. 5 E., is 

about one-half mile distant from the Hardys Mill locality and is 

known as the Lovelady Place. The section, which reveals both clays 

and sands of the Wilcox formation, is as follows:

Section at the Lovelady Place, Greene County.

Feet. 

4. Light-colored thin soil, with much chert, supporting a

heavy growth of pines___~_________________ 2 

3. Hard coarse sandstone, identical with that at Hardys Mill;

weathering greenish, softer below, regularly stratified_ 10 

2. Soft cross-bedded particolored sands, red predominating,

with numerous irregular patches of pure-white sand;

becomes argillaceous toward base______ _ __ 20 

1. Clay, sandy at top, less sandy below, light drab in color,

becoming darker below and ending in a bed of lignite;

the whole is regularly and horizontally stratified______ 25

57

Layers 1,2, and 3 of the section belong to the Wilcox formation.

On Poplar Creek, in Greene County, is an exposure described by 

Call,2 which shows a ferruginous phase of the Wilcox and also the relation of this formation to the overlying Lafayette. The section is 

as follows:

Section on Poplar Creek, Greene County. 

[NW. J sec. 10, T. 16 N., R. 4 E.]

Pliocene (?) (Lafayetteformation) : ' Feet.

4. Light-colored sandy humus with a few pebbles_____ 3

3. Gravel with subordinate lenses of clay; much coarse

sand is distributed throughout the gravel________ 10

2. Gravel and sand indurated to a conglomerate______ 1 

Eocene (Wilcox formation) :

1. Cross-bedded, variegated, slightly indurated sands, 

white and yellow predominating, with scattered small 

masses of slate-colored pipe clay; locally cemented by 

iron oxide into hard, compact masses ________ 12

26

Craighead County. From Craighead County northeastward to 

the southern part of Clay County exposures of quartzite, most of 

which are on the west-facing slope of the ridge, are numerous. These 

exist as masses of indurated sand in the Wilcox formation.

One of the best examples of the rock is in sec. 9, T. 15 N., E. 3 E., 

on the old William Lane place, about 4 miles northeast of Bono post 

office, Craighead County, where several large masses of extremely

iCall, R. E., op cit., pp. 97, 98. 2 Idem, p. 111.
GEOLOGY. 61

hard, cross-bedded quartzite, 5 or 6 feet thick, outcrop on the western 

slope of the ridge just north of the public road. The base of the 

lowest mass is 20 or 25 feet above the level of the lowland to the west 

and the top of the highest one is about 40 feet above the same datum. 

The lowest mass is apparently not in its original position, but has 

slipped down the slope for an unknown distance; it is underlain by 

yellow stratified sand.

Just south of the road and a few rods south of the quartzite masses 

the following section is exposed in a gully, the bottom of which is only 

a few feet above the level of the lowland to the west:

Section in a gully on the William Lane place, 4 miles northeast of Bono, Craighead County.

Pleistocene: Feet. 

Yellow and brown loam, a facies of the loess________ 4 

Pliocene (?) (Lafayetteformation) :

Heavy bed of coarse gravel, consisting chiefly of pebbles, 

cobbles, and bowlders of chert, with a considerable admixture of quartzite fragments derived from the Wilcox 

formation; a few smoothly rounded quartz pebbles occur 

mixed through the gravel_____ .____________ 15 

Unconformity. 

Eocene (Wilcox formation):

Laminated gray and yellow fine argillaceous sand with 

subordinate lenses of laminated clay; a thin layer of 

brown ferruginous sand, locally indurated, occurs along 

the top of this bed . ___ ______________ 15

34

Exposures of quartzite. Exposures of the quartzites of the Wilcox 

formation have been noted by Call 1 and others at the following 

places:

Craighead County, sees. 6, 7, T. 14 N., R. 3 E.

sees. 9, 16, 17, 20, 29, 31, 32, T. 15 N., R. 3 E. 

Greene County, sees. 4, 5, 16,17,19, T. 16 N., R. 5 E.

sees. 1, 3, 25, 36, T. 17 N., R. 4 E.

sees. 13, 23 ?, 34, 35, 36, T. 18 N., R. 4 E.

sees. 2, 4, 7, 8, 9,18, 30, T. 18 N., R. 5 E. 

Greene and Clay counties, sees. 15?, 19, 20, 29, T. 19 N., R. 6 E.

Poinsett County. Call describes a section on Bolivar Creek in 

Poinsett County, 3J miles north of Harrisburg (NW. i SW. \ sec. 8, 

T. 11 N., R. 4 E.), concerning which he says:*2

By far the best section exhibited in Poinsett County is on Bolivar Creek, 34 

miles north of Harrisburg, on the west side of the ridge. Bolivar Creek is the 

largest stream in this part of the county and constitutes the main tributary to, 

or is, rather, the chief source of the L'Anguille River. The exposure faces north

R. E., op. cit, pp. 93, 94. 2i<jem, pp. 80, 81.
62 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

and is continuous for about 400 feet. The relations given in the section, however, 

are made out from observations extending over a mile, and represent a vertical 

distance of more than 100 feet. The point at which the lignite bed is exposed is 

only about 30 feet in height, but it underlies a vertical cliff at that place.

This locality was visited by the senior author, and the following 

section, which pertains only to the main exposure near the mouth of 

the creek, is based upon his observations (see PL V, B, p. 52):

Section on Bolivar Creek, 3$ miles north of Harrisburg, in north-facing bluff 

near the exit of the creek from Crowleys Ridge.

Pleistocene (loess) : Feet.

11. Brown loam, probably creep from a higher level___ 1 

Pliocene (?) (Lafayetteformation) :

3jO. Gravel, probably creep from a higher level______ 4 

Eocene (Wilcox formation) :

9. Weathered brown fine argillaceous sand________ 3 

8. Fine light-gray, faintly laminated argillaceous sand_ 11 

7. Fine light-gray massive sand_______________ 4. 5 

6. Fine chocolate-colored argillaceous, faintly laminated

sand ____________________________ 4.5 

5. Dark chocolate-colored, very fine, very argillaceous

sand.______________ _ _ 4 

4. Dark-brown to black lignite_______ ___ __ 5 

3. Brown argillaceous lignitic sand _ _ _ 1 

2. Dark chocolate-colored tough clay, lignitic in upper 

portion; in places in the upper 2 feet contains numerous poorly preserved lignitized leaves and leaf impressions ____________ _ _ _ 3 

1. Very tough light-greenish clay_ _ _ 2

^3

The layer of lignite (No. 4) and the clay layers (Nos. 1 and 2) are 

somewhat irregularly bedded and vary in thickness along the face of 

the bluff. In places the upper lignitic portion of layer No. 2 becomes 

a bed of true lignite 1 to 2 feet thick; a few lignitized logs and fragmental remains of lignitized stumps were seen in this layer.

Among the fossil leaves collected from layer No. 2, E. W. Berry has 

identified the following species:

Fossil plants from layer No. 2, Bolivar Creek section.

Ficus pseudomediafolia Berry.1 

Juglans schimperi (Lesquereux) ?

Sapindus mississippiensis Berry.1 

Sophora wilcoxiana Berry?

Palseodendron americanum Berry.1

South of Bolivar Creek Crowleys Ridge rises about 115 feet 

(aneroid reading) above the bed of the creek; the ridge is here capped 

by brownish loam (loess), which rests upon a bed of gravel of the 

Lafayette formation.

1 For description of this new species see Berry, E. W., The lower Eocene floras of southeastern North America: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91 (in press).
GEOLOGY. 63

At several places between Harrisburg and Bolivar Creek sands 

and argillaceous sands, probably corresponding to layers Nos. 6, 7, 8, 

and 9, were observed in gullies near the base of the west-facing slope 

of the ridge.

COEBELATION.

Berry has identified species of fossil plants from three localities 

referable to the Wilcox formation; from two of the localities (one 

in Greene County, p. 58, and the other in Clay County, p. 58) he 

recognized the following nine species:

Fossil plants from the Wilcox formation in Clay and Greene counties.

Anemia eocenica Berry.1 

Banksia tenuifolia Berry.1 

Dryophyllum tennesseensis Berry.1 

Nectandra lowei Berry.1

Cinnamomum postnewberryi Berry.1 

Ficus eolignitica Berry.1 

Ficus vaughani Berry.1 

Pteris eolignitica Berry.1

Aralia notata Lesquereux.

Berry states that all but one of the species enumerated occur in 

the Wilcox formation of the eastern Gulf region, and that the excepted species is common to the Fort Union formation of the western 

interior. On the evidence of these plants he correlates the containing beds with the Wilcox formation.

From the third locality, on Bolivar Creek, 3| miles north of Harrisburg, Poinsett County (p. 62), Berry recognized five species, 

which he states indicate that the containing bed belongs near the top 

of the Wilcox. He says:

I have no comparative data to prove that these forms do not extend into the 

Claiborne; however, none of the species have ever been found in the Claiborne, 

and in fact only one or two of the 250 species elsewhere found in the Wilcox 

have ever been found in the Claiborne. From this I conclude that the Bolivar 

Creek locality belongs to the Wilcox; I do not believe there is any lower 

Claiborne in Crowleys Ridge.

Although the contact between the Wilcox formation and the overlying Claiborne formation was not discovered, it is assumed, on the 

evidence afforded by the fossil plants, that the former does not appear 

in surface outcrops farther south in Crowleys Ridge than Harrisburg, Poinsett County.

CLAIBORNE FORMATION. 

GENERAL FEATURES.

Name. In 1834 2 and again in 1835 3 Conrad described a stratum 

of sand containing a rich molluscan fauna, exposed in a bluff on

1 For description of this new species see Berry, E. W., The lower Eocene floras of southeastern North America : TJ. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91 (in press).

2 Conrad, T. A., Observations on the Tertiary and more recent formations of a portion of 

the Southern States: Acad, Nat. Sci. Philadelphia Jour., vol. 7, pp. 116-129, 1834.

3 Eocene fossils of the Claiborne, with observations on this formation in the United 

States : Fossil shells of the Tertiary formations of North America, vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 29-36, 

1835. (See Harris's republication of Conrad's " Fossil shells," 1893, pp. 75-84.)
64 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Alabama River, at the village of Claiborne, Monroe County, Ala. 

He referred to this bed as the " Claiborne deposits," and in a later 

publication as the " Claiborne sandstone"; the Eocene age of the 

fauna was recognized. Since the introduction of the name it has 

been applied by different investigators to deposits distributed geographically from North Carolina to the Rio Grande. By some 

the name has been given a broader and by others a more restricted 

application than the present accepted limits of the division.1

1 The literature on the subject is voluminous and can only be enumerated, not reviewed, 

in this report.

Conrad, T. A., Observations on the Eocene formation and descriptions of 105 new species 

of that period from the vicinity of Vicksburg, Miss., with an appendix: Acad. Nat. Sci. 

Philadelphia Proc., vol. 3, pp. 280-281, 1846.

Conrad, T. A., Observations on the Eocene deposit of Jackson, Miss., with descriptions 

of 34 new species of shells and corals. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia Proc., vol. 7, 1854, 

1855, pp. 257-263 (issued in 1856).

Hilgard, E. W., A report on the geology and agriculture of the State of Mississippi, 

pp. 123-128, 1860.

Hilgard, E. W., On the Tertiary formations of Mississippi and Alabama: Am. Jour. Sci., 

2d ser., vol. 43, pp. 33-34, 1867.

Mell, P. PI., jr., The Claiborne group and its remarkable fossils: Am. Inst. Min. Eng. 

Trans., vol. 8, pp. 304-313, 1880.

Heilprin, Angelo, On the relative ages and classification of the post-Eocene Tertiary 

deposits of the Atlantic slope: Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia Proc., p. 184, 1882.

Heilprin, Angelo, The Tertiary geology of the eastern and southern United States: 

Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia Jour., vol. 9, pp. 116, 120, 145-147, 1884.

Heilprin, Angelo, The Tertiary geology of the eastern and southern United States: Published by the author; p. 37, Philadelphia, 1884.

Meyer, Otto, The genealogy and the age of the species in the southern old Tertiary: 

Am. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 30, pp. 421-435, 1885.

Aldrich, T. H., Observations upon the Tertiary of Alabama: Am. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 

30, pp. 300-308, 1885.

Smith, E. A., Remarks on a paper of Dr. Otto Meyer on Species in the southern old Tertiary: Am. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 30, pp. 270-275, 1885.

Langdon, D. W., Tertiary of Mississippi and Alabama: Am. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 31, 

pp. 202-209, 1886.

Aldrich, T. H., Notes on the distribution of Tertiary fossils in Alabama and Mississippi: 

Cincinnati Soc. Nat. Hist. Jour., vol. 8, pp. 256-257, 1886.

Aldrich, T. H., a preliminary report upon the Tertiary fossils of Alabama and Mississippi : Alabama Geol. Survey Bull. 1, pp. 44-49, 1886.

Smith, E. A., Summary of the lithological and stratigraphical features and subdivisions 

of the Tertiary of Alabama: Alabama Geol. Survey Bull. 1, Introduction, pp. 8-10, 1886.

Smith, E. A., and Johnson, L. C., On the Tertiary and Cretaceous strata of the Tuscaloosa, Tombigbee, and Alabama rivers: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 43, pp. 15-18, 25-34, 1887.

Langdon, D. W., Geological section along the Chattahoochee River from Columbus to 

Alum Bluff: Georgia Geol. Survey First Rept. Progress, 1891, pp. 96, 97.

Langdon, D. W., Variations in the Cretaceous and Tertiary strata of Alabama: Geol. 

Soc. America Bull., vol. 2, p. 588, 1891.

Clark, W. B., Correlation papers Eocene: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 83, 173 pp., 1891.

Spencer, J. W., Geological report on southwest Georgia: Georgia Geol. Survey First 

Rept. Progress, pp. 51-53, 1891.

McGee, W J, The Lafayette formation: U. S. Geol. Survey Twelfth Ann. Rept., pt. 1, 

pp. 413-418, 1891.

Smith, E. A., Phosphates and marls of Alabama: Alabama Geol. Survey Bull. 2, pp. 

53, 62, 1892.

Harris, G. D., The Tertiary geology of southern Arkansas: Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. 

Rept. for 1892, vol. 2, pp. 87-187, 1894.

Smith, E. A., Langdon, D. W., and Johnson, L. C., On the geology of the Coastal Plain 

of Alabama: Alabama Geol. Survey Bull., pt. 1, pp. 17, 122-138, 232-235, 492, 494, 1894.

Vaughan, T. W., The stratigraphy of northwestern Louisiana: Am. Geologist, vol. 

15, pp. 210-220, 1895.
GEOLOGY. 65

As at present understood the term Claiborne is applied to the 

strata included between the Wilcox formation below and the Jackson 

formation above. In tfie other States in which the deposits have been 

recognized they have been subdivided on lithologic grounds into 

formations, and the term Claiborne group has been used. In Crowleys Ridge, where the deposits have not been subdivided, the term 

Claiborne formation is applied to the entire division.

In Louisiana the Claiborne has been subdivided in ascending order 

into the St. Maurice formation, which is composed of calcareous and 

glauconitic deposits of marine origin, and the Yegua or " Cockfield " 

formation, which consists of lignite-bearing sands and clays. The 

leaf-bearing clay in Crowleys Ridge near Cherry Valley, Cross 

County^ described on page 69, is correlated by Berry with the Yegua 

(" Cockfield ") formation of the Claiborne group. No deposits corresponding in lithologic character to the St. Maurice formation have 

been observed in Crowleys Ridge stratigraphically below the leafbearing clay at Cherry Valley, and there is reason to believe that 

only the upper part of the Claiborne is represented in northeastern 

Arkansas.

Areal distribution. In northeastern Arkansas the Claiborne formation outcrops in the base of Crowleys Ridge to a probable maximum 

height of 100 feet above the adjoining lowlands, from the vicinity of 

Harrisburg, Poinsett County, to the southern part of Cross County.

East of Mississippi River deposits of the Claiborne group outcrop 

in North Carolina and from South Carolina southwestward through 

Georgia, westward through Alabama, and northward through Mississippi. The group is represented in Tennessee and Kentucky by a part 

of the Lagrange formation, but it has not been accurately differentiated from, the strata of Jackson and Wilcox age, which are extensively developed in the same area and are also included in the 

Lagrange formation.

Vaughan, T. W., A brief contribution to the geology and paleontology of northwestern Louisiana: TJ. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 142, p. 15, 1896.

Dall, W. H., A table of the North American Tertiary horizons, correlated with one 

another and with those of western Europe, with annotations: TJ. S. Geol. Survey Eighteenth Ann. Rept., pt. 2, pp. 342-343, 1898.

Harris, G. D., and Veatch, A. C., A preliminary report on the geology of Louisiana: 

Louisiana Geol. Survey, pt. 5, pp. 73-89, 1899.

Vaughan, T. W., The Eocene and lower Oligocene coral faunas of the United States: 

U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 39, pp. 27-30, 1900.

Veatch, Otto, and Stephenson, L. W., Tertiary and Quaternary [Georgia] : Geol. Survey 

Georgia Bull. 26, pp. 235-296, 1911.

Vaughan, T. W., [Tertiary of] Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas: TJ. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 71, pp. 723-731, 1912.

Vaughan, T. W., [Eocene and Oligocene of] south Atlantic and eastern Gulf Coastal 

Plain and north end of Mississippi embayment: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 71, 

pp. 731-739, 1912.

11674° WSP 399 16 5
66 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

In southern Arkansas the Claiborne is probably represented by a 

part of the undifferentiated Eocene mapped by Veatch,1 and deposits of this age have been recognized from northern Louisiana 

south westward to the Rio Grande.

Stratigraphic relations. In Crowleys Ridge the Claiborne formation rests upon the Wilcox formation, and the relation, though not 

determined with certainty, is probably that of nonconformity. 

Fossil leaves of upper Wilcox age have been found at the base of 

Crowleys Ridge, on Bolivar Creek, 3| miles north of Harrisburg 

(p. 62), and fossil leaves of upper Claiborne age (Yegua) occur at 

the base of the ridge near Cherry Valley, Cross County (p. 69). 

From considerations based upon the general structure of the Mississippi Embayment and the slight inclination of the strata composing 

the Eocene, it is believed highly improbable that the full thickness 

of the Claiborne group of Alabama and Mississippi can be represented in outcrops in Crowleys Ridge, between the two localities mentioned. It seems necessary to assume, therefore, that the lower part 

of the Claiborne is represented by an unconformity. In a letter to 

the senior author, Berry discusses this hypothetical .unconformity as 

follows:

With regard to the Claiborne unconformity, I am convinced that the later 

Claiborne transgresses far to the north of the earlier. I have St. Maurice 

[lower Claiborne] plants from southern Arkansas and Yegua ("Cockfield") 

[upper Claiborne] plants from northwestern Mississippi, and the general relations of the deposits demand an unconformity. In materials away from the 

open sea that is in littoral sands and lenses of estuarine clay, unconformities 

would scarcely even be detectable unless the unconformable deposits were laid 

down at very, different depths, and consequently were of different lithologic 

character.

The Claiborne formation is overlain toward the southern limit of 

its occurrence in Crowleys Ridge by the Jackson formation; the 

relation is believed to be that of conformity.

Throughout the greater part of its extent in Crowleys Ridge the 

formation is overlain unconformably by gravels and sands of the 

Lafayette formation. Disturbed materials of the Lafayette formation and of the overlying loess have found their way down the slopes 

by redeposition, creep, and landslide, and have blanketed the Claiborne strata which would otherwise appear at the surface continuously along the base of the ridge.

Lithologic character. The formation in Crowleys Ridge consists 

of regularly and irregularly bedded, more or less lignitiferous sands 

and clays, with subordinate, thin, interstratified layers of lignite. 

The sands are for the most part fine in texture, are commonly mica1 Veatcb, A. C., Geology and underground water resources of northern Louisiana and 

southern Arkansas: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 46, p. 40, 1906.
GEOLOGY. 67

ceous, and are light to dark in color. The clays are light drab to 

black and range in bedding from massive to thinly laminated, with 

fine micaceous sand partings; locally, as at Copperas Bluff, Cross 

County, they are strongly gypsiferous, the gypsum being present as 

crystals and presenting numerous clusters of acicular crystals.

Concretions of iron carbonate are common in the' clays of the 

formation, and appear in many of the exposures in Cross County. 

Lignite is characteristic and occurs as comminuted particles or as 

larger fragments. -

Strike, dip, and thickness. The strike of the strata composing the 

Claiborne formation is inferred, from the general structure of the 

Gulf embayment, to be approximately northeast-southwest. The 

beds dip to the southeast at the rate of a few feet per mile. No accurate data are available for determining the thickness of the formation, but rough calculations based on the width of outcrop and an 

assumed dip of between 5 and 10 feet per mile, give a thickness of 

between 100 and 200 feet for the formation.

Physiographic expression. The present surface features of Crowleys Ridge are determined mainly by the Lafayette formation and by 

the loess, which form the capping materials of the ridge. However, 

the existence of that part of the ridge underlain by the Claiborne 

formatipn is due to the resistance to erosion offered by the strata of 

this terrane, and particularly by the thicker beds of clay. In this 

respect the ridge may be said to be a topographic expression of the 

formation.

Paleontologic character. Fossil leaves, poorly to fairly well preserved, have been collected from the formation at an exposure threefourths of a mile southeast of Cherry Valley, Cross County; a list of 

the identified species is given on page 69. Comminuted particles and 

larger fragments of lignite are common in the formation throughout 

practically its whole thickness. At a few places thin layers and 

lenses of lignite have been observed. No remains of animals have 

been found in place in the formation; however, at an exposure 4 

miles east of Wynne shark teeth and mouth plates were found loose 

in the bed of a gully.

LOCAL DETAILS.

The Claiborne formation is well exposed at many places in Crowleys Ridge in Poinsett and Cross counties. Call 1 has described 

numerous sections in detail. A few sections are given to show the 

general lithologic character of the formation.

1 Call, R. E., The geology of Crowleys Ridge: Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. Rept. for 

1889, vol. 2, pp. 57-80, 1891.
68 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Spencer Creek, Cross County. Call * described a section on Spencer Creek, in Crowleys Ridge, 1 mile north of Harrisburg, Cross 

County, which is here repeated in substance, as follows :

Section on Spencer Creek 1 mile north of Harrisburg, Cross County.

Pleistocene (loess) :

Humus, with considerable sand and a few scattered pebbles __ .._ __________________________ "__ 1 

Yellowish loesslike marl, indurated below, weathering 

into vertical cliffs. This layer becomes much redder 

below and has occasional seams of pebbles with a matrix 

of red sand. At the very bottom the clay is almost 

entirely replaced by coarse, brick-red sand- _ ___ 20

Eocene (Claiborne formation?) :

Horizontally stratified white sands, alternating with light 

slate-colored layers of plastic clay, the thickness of the 

clay varying from half an inch to 5 inches. The thicker 

layers of clay are laminated, the laminae being separated by thin layers of a very fine white sand, though 

these finer sand partings are sometimes stained yellow 

by iron oxide. Below the first 5 feet these clay bands 

almost entirely disappear and the whole becomes a very 

fine white horizontally stratified sand. This member is 

remarkable for the regularity and horizontality of its 

stratification _________ _ _ 13 

Stratified bluish to drab clays, with abundant small fragments of lignite scattered throughout, though in places 

these particles are arranged in zones 2 to 3 inches thick. 

Near the bottom is a heavy deposit of siliceous iron ore, 

in places forming the floor of the creek and elsewhere 

jutting out as a ledge from the bank. The thickness of 

this iron clay-stone varies from 1 foot to 15 or 20 inches- 23

57 

Call says also :

Farther down the creek and west of the road is a continuation of the above 

section which extends its general features nearly half a mile to the west. In 

this exposure the iron clay-stone is nodulous and is represented by very large 

segregations instead of by a bed. Lignite is much more abundant and the 

fragments are larger than at the first-mentioned locality, but they are arranged 

in an undulating zone throughout the whole section. At the top of the section, 

for 7 feet of the total thickness, which is 25 feet, the character of the soil 

clearly resembles the loess clays and, though it is somewhat more deeply colored 

and more clayey than usual, it probably represents that deposit.

Although no fossils were found in this section, the presence of iron 

ore in the lowest layer and the regularity of the bedding exhibited by 

the two lower layers are regarded as evidence of their Claiborne age.

Cherry Valley section, Cross County. The following is a section 

exposed on a small creek, where it leaves Crowleys Eidge about threei Call, R. E., op. cit., pp. 78, 79.
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

l. SANDS AND CLAYS OF THE CLAIBORNE FORMATION THREE-FOURTHS OF A MILE SOUTHEAST OF CHERRY VALLEY, CROSS COUNTY.

B. LEAF-BEARING CONCRETIONS OF IRON CARBONATE IN CLAY OF THE CLAIBORNE FORMATION AT THE LOWER END OF THE BLUFF SHOWN IN PLATE VI, A.

GEOLOGY. 69

quarters of a mile southeast of Cherry Valley, Cross County (see 

Plate VI, A and B) :

Section near Cherry Valley, Cross County.

Pleistocene (loess) : Feet.

Brown pebbly loam, which has probably crept down the

slope from a higher level__________________ 3 

Pliocene (?) (Lafayette formation):

Gravel composed of pebbles of angular to partially rounded 

gray and brown chert; a few scattered, smoothly 

rounded quartz pebbles, and a few scattered angular 

chunks of ferruginous conglomerate. The gravel mantles 

down over the slope and the whole bed has probably 

crept down the slope from a higher level__________ 5

Unconformity.

Eocene (Claiborne formation) :

Faintly laminated fine, rather compact argillaceous sand, 

red in the upper 5 or 6 feet and grading downward into 

light greenish-gray sand streaked with yellow; this is a 

weathered phase of the material described in the next 

layer below _________________________________________

Brown, faintly laminated, finely micaceous argillaceous 

sand with crystals of selenite and scattered small particles of vegetable matter__________________ 14

Massive fine light greenish-gray sand streaked with yellow_________________________________ 12

Laminated dark-gray and dark-brown, very sandy micaceous clay, with laminse and thin layers of gray, brown, 

and yellow fine sand having a maximum thickness of 2 

or 3 inches; the bed contains comminuted vegetable particles and a few scattered fragments of lignite______ 8

Massive, finely arenaceous dark greenish gray clay, with 

numerous black fossil leaves preserved as lignite; scattered through the clay are numerous concretions of iron 

carbonate with a maximum diameter of 2 or 3 feet, 

which contain numerous fairly well preserved leaf impressions (PI. VI, A, B) ; maximum exposed thickness 5

47

From the leaf-bearing bed at the base of the section the following 

species, identified by E. W. Berry, were collected by Berry and the 

senior author:

Fossil plants near Cherry Valley, Cross County.

Arthrotaxis (?) sp.

Citrophyllum eocenicum Berry (occurs

also at Claiborne, Ala.).1 

Inga arkansensis Berry.1

Mimusops claibornensis Berry.1 

Persea gratissimifolia Berry.1 

Ternstrcemites crowleyensis Berry.1 

Ternstrcemites claibornensis Berry.1

1 For description of this new species see Berry, E. W., The lower Eocene floras of southeastern North America: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 91 (in press).
70 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

On the evidence of the species enumerated, Berry correlates the 

containing stratum with the upper Claiborne, and states that the bed 

probably corresponds in age to the lignitiferous division of the Claiborne group of Louisiana and Texas known as the Yegua (" Cockfield") formation.

Sections east of Wynne, Cross County. The following section is 

exposed in a ravine about 4 miles east of Wynne, Cross County, and 

one-fourth mile south of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern 

Railway:

Section in a ravine 4 miles east of Wynne, Cross County.

Pleistocene: Feet. 

Loess _______________________________ 18

Pliocene (?) (Lafayette formation) :

Gravel with a matrix of sand_______________ 18 

Eocene (Claiborne formation) :

Light-gray argillaceous sand, irregularly streaked with

yellow, pink, and red____________________ 6 

Interbedded light-drab arenaceous clay and light-gray 

sand_________________________________ 15

Pink and yellowish mottled argillaceous sand_______ 1 

Very dark lignitic clay, with two thin seams of pure lignite _______________________________ 1.5 

Gray and yellowish argillaceous sand______________ 8

Concealed by a landslide___________________ 30 

Dark-drab arenaceous lignitic clay, more sandy in its 

upper portion; contains crystals of selenite an inch 

or more in length; this layer is exposed along the bottom of the ravine below the landslide; a few shark 

teeth and mouth plates were found loose in the bed of 

the ravine____________________________ 30

127.5

In a bluff at the foot of the ridge near the mouth of the ravine 15 

feet of dark clay, containing crystals of selenite and concretions of 

iron carbonate, some of which are a foot or more in diameter, is 

exposed.

Another clear-cut section in which strata of the Claiborne formation are exposed is a south-facing bluff on a small creek 3 miles east 

of Wynne and one-eighth mile north of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain 

& Southern Eailway:

Section in a Muff on a small creek 3 miles east of Wynne and one-eighth mile 

north of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway.

Pleistocene (loess): Feet.

Massive grayish and brownish loess, with a reddish band 

(a, fig. 1) 5 or 6 feet thick extending horizontally 

through the middle portion of the layer_________ 40

Light-gray compact argillaceous sand, with scattered 

small pebbles probably derived from layer 3 (fig. 1) 2-6
GEOLOGY. 71

Feet. 

Unconformity (?) ; a fairly sharp though not an absolutely

sharp contact. 

Pliocene (?) (Lafayette formation) :

Gravel composed chiefly of subangular to partly rounded 

flint and chert pebbles and cobbles up to 5 or 6 inches 

in length, with a small percentage of smoothly 

rounded quartz pebbles up to 1 inch in length. _ 0-5 

Unconformity. 

Eocene (Claiborne formation) :.

Dark-gray laminated compact shaly clay_________ 5 

Massive dark-gray to chocolate-tinted, very argillaceous 

sand, with numerous small particles of lignite; contains oval to spherical concretions of iron carbonate, 

which reach a maximum of 1 foot in diameter; small 

pieces of lignite form the nucleus of some of these 

concretions____________________________ 7

58

x' i i i ' I i j i c I 'Mi I i I ' ' ' I ' I 11 «; ' ' M i i i

/> ' ",' i'.',5 ) '// )',' ' ! iM,V^, M |i, '>')'V^ . H ( ^^..vk-jrU-^'- -'- l±'4i^ V=LU^ u^.^.^t^i^^y^

FIGURE 1. Sketch to show the relations of formations exposed in a bluff on a small creek 

3 miles east of Wynne, Cross County, and one-eighth mile north of the St. Louis, 

Iron Mountain & Southern Railway. 1 and 2, Claiborne formation; 3, Lafayette formation; 4, sandy layer at base of loess; 5, loess containing reddish band (a) near the 

middle.

The relations indicated in the section just described are graphically 

represented in figure 1.

Copperas Creek section, Cross County. The site of Old Wittsburg 

is on St. Francis River, at the foot of the east-facing slope of Crowleys Ridge, about 5 miles east of Wynne, Cross County. Call 1 has 

described an exposure of the Claiborne formation on Copperas Creek 

north of Wittsburg. He says:

Two and a half miles north of Wittsburg Copperas Creek flows eastward 

from the ridge, and after a sinuous course through the alluvium of the St. 

Francis bottoms joins St. Francis River some distance to the south. Where it 

leaves the hills this stream has cut away the greater part of a north and south 

spur and exposed its stratigraphy.

iCall, R. B., op. cit., pp. 69-71.
72 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

The section given by Call is in substance as follows: 

Section at Copperas Bluff, Cross County.

Pleistocene (loess) : Feet.

Light-yellow siliceous humus__________ ______ 2

Loess with abundant concretions of calcium carbonate in 

the middle portion; the lower portion contains pebbles, 

which are particularly abundant near the base; weathers 

into vertical cliffs____J__________________ 5 

Pliocene (?) (Lafayette formation) :

Gravel composed mainly of yellowish chert with an intermixture of varicolored sand; contains also pebbles of 

sandstone 3 to 4 inches in diameter; this bed is 1 foot 

thick at the extreme end of the section and thickens to a 

maximum of 8 feet at the west end of the section ___ 5 

Eocene (Claiborne formation) :

Reddish, partly indurated, cross-bedded, rather coarse sand, 

with numerous small pieces of light-yellow ocher disseminated in patches_________________________ 5

Stratified drab to purplish sandy clay, with numerous 

fragments of lignite_______________________ 15

Ironstone nodules, distributed somewhat regularly in a 

narrow zone; some of the nodules are. hollow or are filled 

with sand_____________________________ 1

Bluish stratified clay, with an abundance of comminuted 

vegetable matter and some fragments of lignite; contains also many crystals of gypsum_____________ 10

Layer of ironstone concretions which forms a ledge along 

the face of the bluff______________________ 1

White and yellowish fine stratified sand; the layer thins 

out and disappears toward the west____________ 10

Dark-bluish sandy stratified clay, with organic matter 

and numerous large fragments of lignite; contains much 

selenite, partly in the form of acicular crystals radiating from a common center___________________ 12

66

CORRELATION.

The leaf-bearing clay exposed in the section near Cherry Valley, 

Cross County (p. 69), is the key to the correlation of this formation. 

According to Berry the fossil plants identified from this stratum indicate its upper Claiborne age and its probable synchronism with the 

Yegua (" Cockfield ") formation of Louisiana and Texas. The Yegua 

formation is the upper lignitiferous division of the Claiborne group 

of those States. Fossil leaves of upper Wilcox age have been identified by Berry from a locality on Bolivar Creek, 3^ miles north of Harrisburg, Poinsett County (p. 62). He believes the paleontologic evidence strong that only the upper or Yegua (" Cockfield ") formation 

of the Claiborne, as developed in southern Arkansas and in Louisiana, 

is represented in Crowleys Ridge (see p. 63), and that the Claiborne 

of this area must therefore be separated from the underlying Wilcox
GEOLOGY. 73

formation by an unconformity, corresponding in time to the lower 

Claiborne of other areas.

Fossil invertebrates of lower Jackson age have been identified by 

T. Wayland Vaughan from a marl bed exposed on Little Crow Creek 

about 3 miles east of Forrest City, St. Francis County (pp. 76-78).

With these paleontologic criteria as a check the areal distribution of 

the Claiborne formation in Crowleys Eidge, as indicated on the map, 

is determined on the evidence afforded by certain lithologic data, 

which, though not so satisfactory as paleontologic evidence, may 

nevertheless be considered valid.

Many of the sections in Cross County here referred to the Claiborne formation include beds of clay containing concretions of iron 

carbonate, and at the Cherry Valley locality, to which reference has 

just been made, these concretions are leaf-bearing. The fact that the 

concretions have not been found in the Eocene of Crowleys Eidge, 

either north or south of Cross County, seems to justify the opinion 

that they are characteristic of the Claiborne formation of this area.

The invertebrate-bearing beds on Crow Creek east of Forrest City 

in St. Francis County, which have been correlated with the lower 

Jackson, do not contain iron carbonate concretions, and this seems to 

be a further confirmation of the belief that the concretions are characteristic of the Claiborne formation.

JACKSON FORMATION.

GENERAL, FEATURES.

Name. Conrad 1 in 1856 described a series of calcareous, fossilbearing clays typically exposed at Jackson, Miss., and applied to them 

the name Jackson. Subsequently, the deposits have been traced with 

certain interruptions from North Carolina to eastern Texas.2

Areal distribution. In Arkansas the Jackson formation outcrops 

in the base of Crowleys Eidge to a probable maximum height of 

100 feet above the level of the lowlands, from the northern part of

1 Conrad, T. A., Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia Proc., vol. 7, 1854-55, p. 257, 1856.

2 The more important papers relating to the Jackson formation are listed below.

Hilgard, E. W., A report on the geology and agriculture of the State of Mississippi, pp. 

128-135, 1860.

Hilgard, E. W., On the Tertiary formation of Mississippi and Alabama: Am. Jour. Sci., 

2d ser., vol. 43, pp. 29-33, 1867.

Heilprin, Angelo, On the relative ages and classification of the post-Eocene Tertiary 

deposits of the Atlantic slope: Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia Proc., p. 184, 1882.

Heilprin, Angelo, The Tertiary geology of the eastern and southern United States: 

Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia Jour., vol. 9, pp. 116, 120, 145, 147-148, 1884.

Heilprin Angelo. The Tertiary geology of the eastern and southern United States, 

p. 37. Published by the author, Philadelphia, 1884.

Meyer, Otto, The genealogy and the age of the species in the southern old Tertiary: 

Am. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 30, pp. 421-435, 1885.

Aldrich, T. H., Observations upon the Tertiary of Alabama: Am. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 

30, pp. 300-308, 1885.
74 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

St. Francis County southward nearly to the southern extremity of 

the ridge in Phillips County. South of Arkansas Eiver the terrane 

appears in Jefferson., Lincoln, Cleveland, Drew, and Bradley 

counties, Ark.

Stratigratphic relations.- In Crowleys Ridge the Jackson formation rests upon the Claiborne formation and is overlain unconformably by the Lafayette formation. The contact between the Jackson 

and Lafayette formations is very irregular, and varies in vertical 

position from near the level of the base of the ridge to at least 100 

feet above that datum plane. The gravels and sands of the Lafayette 

formation and the loess that caps the ridge have found their way 

down the slopes by redeposition, creep, and landslides, and, except in 

ravines and stream bluffs, have almost completely blanketed the 

Jackson formation.

Lithologic character. The Jackson formation in Crowleys Ridge 

consists of regularly and irregularly bedded, interstratified sands, 

clays, and fossiliferous marls of shallow-marine origin. Where the 

materials are unoxidized the colors range from light gray to dark 

greenish or bluish gray; where oxidation has taken place the materials are variegated with red, pink, yellow, and brown. The sands 

are massive to cross-bedded, vary in texture from fine to coarse, and

Aldrich, T. H., Notes on the distribution of Tertiary fossils in Alabama and Mississippi: 

Cincinnati Soc. Nat. Hist. Jour., vol. 8, pp. 256-257, 1886.

Smith, E. A., and Johnson, L. C., Tertiary and Cretaceous strata of-the Tuscaloosa, 

Tombigbee, and Alabama rivers: TJ. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 43, pp. 19-25, 1887.

Langdon, D. W., Variations in the Cretaceous and Tertiary strata of Alabama: Geol. 

Soc. America Bull., vol. 2, p. 588, 1891.

Clark, W. B., Correlation papers; Eocene: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 83, pp. 68, 76, 1891.

Spencer, J. W., Geological report on southwest Georgia: Georgia Geol. Survey, First 

Rept. Progress, pp. 51-53, 1891.

McGee, W J, The Lafayette formation: U. S. Geol. Survey Twelfth Ann. Rept., pt. 1, 

pp. 412-413, 1891.

Smith, E. A., Phosphate and marls of Alabama: Alabama Geol. Survey Bull. 2, pp. 

53-55, 1892.

Harris, G. D., The Tertiary geology of southern Arkansas: Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. 

Rept. for 1892, vol. 2, pp. 87-176, 1894.

Smith, E. A., Langdon, D. W., and Johnson, L. C., On the geology of the Coastal Plain 

of Alabama, pp. 107-122, 376-385, Alabama Geol. Survey, 1894.

Vaughan, T. W., The stratigraphy of northwestern Louisiana: Am. Geologist, vol. 15, 

pp. 221-223, 1895.

Vaughan, T. W., A brief contribution to the geology and paleontology of northwestern 

Louisiana : U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 142, p. 22, 1896.

Ball, W. H., A table of the North American Tertiary horizons, correlated with one another and with those of western Europe, with annotations: U, S. Geol. Survey Eighteenth 

Ann. Rept., pt. 2, p. 342, 1898.

Harris, G. D., and Veatch, A. C., A preliminary report on the geology of Louisiana: 

Louisiana Geol. Survey, pt. 5, pp. 89-93, 1899.

Vaughan, T. W., The Eocene and lower Oligocene coral faunas of the United States: 

U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 39, p. 30, 1900.

Veatch, Otto, and Stephenson, L. W., Tertiary and Quaternary [Georgia] : Georgia 

Geol. Survey Bull. 26, pp. 296-306, 1911.

Vaughan, T. W., [Eocene and Oligocene of] Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas: U. S. 

Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 71, pp. 727, 728, 1912.

Vaughan, T. W., [Eocene and Oligocene of] south Atlantic and eastern Gulf Coastal 

Plain and north end of Mississippi embayment: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof, Paper 71, pp. 

731-745, 1912.
GEOLOGY. 75

in places contain small pebbles. The clays are massive to thinly 

stratified or laminated. The marls consist of calcareous and glauconitic sands or clays which in places, as on Little Crow Creek east 

of Forrest City, contain many fossil shells.

Particles and fragments of lignite are common in the formation 

and thin layers of lignite have been observed at a few places.

Strike, dip, and thickness. From the general structure of the 

Coastal Plain in the Mississippi embayment it is believed that the 

strata composing the Jackson formation in Crowleys Ridge strike 

approximately northeast and southwest. From the data afforded by 

well records it is estimated that the beds dip to the southeastward at 

a rate which probably does not exceed 5 feefc a mile.

The thickness of the formation has not been determined, but it 

probably does not exceed 200 feet in northeastern Arkansas.

Physiographic expression. From .Cross County southward to its 

southern extremity Crowleys Ridge, in so far as its existence is due to 

the resistance to erosion offered by the strata composing the Jackson 

formation, is a topographic expression of that formation. However, 

the present details of the surface have been determined largely by the 

Lafayette formation and the loess which form the capping materials 

of the ridge.

Paleontologic character. The basal portion of the Jackson formation in Crowleys Ridge contains fossil mollusks ranging from poorly 

to well preserved. The most abundant species, Ostrea aldbamiensis 

Lea, and the species Modiola hamatoides Call, together with some of 

the less common species, indicate that the containing materials were 

deposited in shallow marine waters. An abundant molluscan fauna 

is contained in the basal 22 feet of the section at White Bluff on 

Arkansas River, Jefferson County.

Lignite, in places segregated into thin beds, is common in the 

formation, and this also points to the shallow-water origin of the 

deposits.

Fossil mollusks and Foraminifera have been obtained from the 

Jackson formation in a well boring near Helena, Phillips County 

(see pp. 82, 83), and from well borings at Choctaw Bar, Desha 

County. Lists of fossils from the several localities mentioned are 

given on pages 78, 80, and 83.

LOCAL DETAILS.

From Cross County southward the east-facing slope of Crowleys 

Ridge is much steeper than the west-facing slope, a condition produced by the erosive action of St. Francis River, which at numerous 

places has cut against the foot of the ridge; the natural exposures 

which show the most complete sequence of strata are all in this steep, 

east-facing slope or in the deep ravines which cut the slope. A few 

of the more interesting sections and well logs are given in detail.
76 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Call 1 has given a large amount of detailed information concerning 

this part of Crowleys Kidge.

/St. Francis County. The most northerly observed exposure that 

is believed referable to the Jackson formation is in the east-facing 

slope of the ridge 8 or 9 miles northeast of Forrest City, St. Francis County, and has been described by Call,2 who says:

A section studied in the SE. i of the NW. i sec. 29, T. 6 N., R. 4 E., at a 

point where St. Francis River flows directly against the ridge and makes a 

sharp turn to the south, shows the sequence of strata from a height of 155 

feet above it down to the river level. * * * For the greater part the section 

is nearly or quite vertical, and is mainly continuous from the loess top of the 

ridge to the Eocene clays at the water's level.

Call's section is in substance as follows:

Section on St. Francis River 8 or 9 miles northeast of Forrest City.

Pleistocene: Feet. 

Loess _________________________________ 60 

Pliocene (?) (Lafayette formation in whole or in part) :

Sands and gravels with large masses of chert and some

red pipe clay________________________ 40 

Eocene (Jackson formation) :

Bluish or black stratified clays without fossils other than 

abundant small pieces of lignite______________ 65

165

The only natural exposure of the formation in Crowleys Eidge that 

has furnished important paleontologic data is a nearly vertical northfacing bluff on Little Crow Creek in St. Francis County, about a mile 

south of west of Madison, about one-eighth mile south of the Chicago. 

Eock Island & Pacific Eailway, and about 3 miles east of Forest City. 

(See PL VII, A and B.) The section is as follows:

Section on Little Crow Creek near Madison, St. Francis County.

Pleistocene (loess) : - Feet.

9. Gray massive loess which stands in a vertical cliff;

grades downward into next layer__ _______ 40

8. Dark-brown facies of loess, the so-called old soil zone;

grades downward into next layer____________ 3

7. Yellowish facies of loess; grades downward into next

layer_____________________ ____ 7

6. Gray facies of loess, containing concretions of calcium 

carbonate; becomes light gray and sandy in lower 

portion and appears to grade downward into next 

layer; contains fossil shells, chiefly of land mollusks, 

in lower 10 feet (see list, p. 78)______________ 15

5. Light-gray fine to medium grained argillaceous sand 

with subordinate lenses of gravel and scattered pebbles ; locally ferruginous with numerous small limonite concretions ________________________ 5

1 Call, R. E., The geology of Crowleys Ridge: Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. Rept. for 

1889, vol. 2, pp. "3&-5T, 143-183, 1891. 

3 Idem, p. 56.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 399 PLATE VII

A. FOSSILIFEROUS CLAY OF THE JACKSON FORMATION OVERLAIN IN ASCENDING ORDER BY 

UNFOSSILIFEROUS SANDS AND CLAYS OF THE SAME FORMATION, THE LAFAYETTE FORMATION, AND THE LOESS, ON LITTLE CROW CREEK 3 MILES EAST OF FORREST CITY, ST. 

FRANCIS COUNTY.

B. NEAR VIEW OF THE BASE OF THE BLUFF ON LITTLE CROW CREEK SHOWN IN PLATE VII, A. 

The successive positions of oyster beds as deposition continued are indicated by the black lines (a).

GEOLOGY. 77

Feet.

The contact as exposed at several places is sharp and probably is an unconformity. 

Pliocene (?) (Lafayetteformation) :

4. Heavy bed of gravel composed chiefly of brown and 

gray, angular to partially rounded pebbles of flint 

and chert up to 12 inches in length, with a small percentage of white, clear, or pink, smoothly rounded 

pebbles of quartz up to 1 inch in length; the pebbles 

and cobbles are in a matrix of coarse, gray, yellow, 

and brown sand______________________ 6 

Unconformity. 

Eocene (Jackson formation) :

3. Fine gray sand with a few small lenses of light-drab

clay ______ 7 

2. Light-drab laminated clay with seams and thin lenses

of light-gray fine sand ________________ 7 

1. Dark-gray compact laminated sandy clay with interbedded layers, lenses, and pockets of compact dark 

greenish gray argillaceous, slightly glauconitic sand; 

contains comminuted particles of lignite and scattered 

larger pieces of lignite; interbedded with the clay in 

the lower 15 feet are lenses and layers of large oysters 

(see PI. VII, B, and fig. 2) with an admixture of 

other smaller forms; an oxidized zone extends along 

the upper 2 feet of the bed________________ 20 * ~110

The accumulations of oysters in layer No. 1 (see PI. VII, B (a), 

and fig. 2) mark the successive positions of the beds of living oysters 

which, as deposition continued, advanced and retreated in response 

to fluctuating favorable and unfavorable conditions.

e w

J Lafayette formation (gravel)' {

Sands and clays 

(layers Nos. 2 and 3 of section)

Concealed by talus 

and vegetation

FIGURE 2. Sketch to show the successive positions of oyster beds (a) as deposition continued, as revealed in the base of the bluff on Little Crow Creek, St. Francis 

County.

The marl bed, layer No. 1 of the section, was examined by Owen* 

as early as 1860 and was correlated by him with the Eocene.

In 1902 Harris 2 discussed the age of the marl and referred it 

provisionally to the Jackson formation.

1 Owen, D. D., Second report of a geological reconnaissance of the middle and southern 

counties of Arkansas, pp. 412-420, 1860.

2 See quotation on pp. 80-81 of this report.
78 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

In 1895 T. Wayland Vaughan collected and identified the following 

species from layer No. 1:

Fossils from Little Crow Creek, St. Francis County.

Trinacria sp. (also at Claiborne). 

Area sp.

Ostrea alabamiensis Lea (abundant). 

Mytilus hamjatoides Call. 

Venericardia planicosta Lamarck. 

Venericardia parva Lea. 

Cytherea discoidalis Conrad. 

Lucina papyracea Lea.

Mazzalina inaurata Conrad. 

Pseudoliva vetusta (Conrad). 

Buccinanops subglobosum (Conrad). 

Odostomia sp. 

Syrnola sp. 1. 

Syrnola sp. 2.

Lunatia eminula (Conrad). 

Turritella arenicola var. branneri 

Harris.

Nearly all the species listed are common to the Claiborne and the 

Jackson. Both Harris and Vaughan are of the opinion that this 

marl corresponds in stratigraphic position to the marl exposed at the 

base of White Bluff, Arkansas River, which Harris has shown to be 

of Jackson age.

From the deep cut east of Forrest City eastward along Little 

Crow Creek toward Madison, in descending order, 2 or 3 feet of 

greenish sand, several feet of very lignitic clay, and several feet of 

gray stratified compact sand, which belong to the Jackson formation, are exposed in the bed of Little Crow Creek near the railroad 

track. A partially lignitized and partially silicified log, 2| feet in 

diameter, was observed in the lignitic layer.

Phillips County. Some of the numerous well borings in the 

vicinity of Helena throw light on the geology of the northeastern part 

of Phillips County. Logs of four such borings are given on pages 

237-238. Especial attention is called to the log of the boring on 

Crowleys Ridge near Helena, made under the auspices of the Mississippi River Commission, and known as "boring No. 2j Helena." 1 

Fossil mollusks taken from this well between the depths 171.3 and 

231.3 feet were reported upon by Hilgard as follows:

The fossiliferous clay and marl bed, 171.3 to 231.3 [feet], with its intercalated 

layer of bluish, impure limestone, is very distinctly characterized as Tertiary of 

the (marine) Claiborne group by the well-preserved specimens of the following 

shells: Monoceros vetustas Lea, Act aeon lineatus Lea, Nucula magna Lea, 

Dentalimn turritum Lea, or microstriatitm Heiler, Natica minima Lea, N. magnoumbilicata Lea, Pleurotoma lonsdalii Lea; there is besides an undescribed 

Pleurotoma, Flabellum, and Retepora.

Concerning the correlation of these beds Hilgard further says: 2

Such as they are, however, these fossils overwhelmingly demonstrate the 

close correspondence of the beds penetrated at Helena and Choctaw Bar (whose

1 Hilgard, E. W., U. S. Mississippi River Commission Ann. Rept. for 1883, Appendix T T 

of the Ann. Rept. of the Chief of Engineers for 1884, pp. 2892-2894. (Published also as 

House Ex. Doc. 37, 48th Cong., pp. 486-488, 1884.)

a ldem, p, 2886. (House Ex. Doc. 37, 48th Cong., p. 488, 1884.)
GEOLOGY. 79

facies is altogether identical) with the lower portion of the Claiborne beds of 

Alabama; perhaps most nearly with those older ones which Dr. Eugene A. 

Smith, State geologist of Alabama, has lately examined at and near Woods 

Bluff, Ala., and which rest directly upon the oldest lignitic and flatwoods clays.

Although Hilgard correlated the shell-bearing beds penetrated in 

the Helena boring with the lower Claiborne, Harris,1 has shown that 

the strata are younger and belong to the Jackson formation.

This correlation accords with Vaughan's reference of the Crow 

Creek marl to the lower Jackson (p. 78), for from considerations 

based on the general structure of the Mississippi embayment it seems 

improbable that the marl penetrated in the Helena well should be 

stratigraphically lower than the marl on Little Crow Creek.

Arkansas River localities. Outside of Crowleys .Eidge the only 

surface occurrences of the Jackson formation in the area tinder immediate consideration are on Arkansas Elver in Jefferson County. 

The most noted locality is White Bluff, which has been described by 

Call 2 and by Harris.3

Harris says (p. 88):

in Volume II of the annual report of the Geological Survey of Arkansas for 

1889, Prof. Call defines this locality as on the south side of Arkansas River, 

3 S., 10 W., sec. 19, W. i of SW. i and NW. i of NW. i of sec. 30. He gives a 

section consisting of 10 distinct beds aggregating 125 feet in thickness, which 

" was observed 400 feet west of a deep gulch which cuts through the entire section at right angles to the face of the bluff, directly opposite the house of J. Wallace at White Bluff Landing." The lower 40 feet of this section he found to be 

fossiliferous. * * *

This classic locality was visited by the writer on the 19th and 20th of November, 1891, when the waters of Arkansas River had been unusually low. Figure 

16 * * * represents the bluff at the gulch referred to by Prof. Call.

Harris's description of the highest portion of the section figured 

by him is essentially as follows:

Section of White Bluff, Arkansas River, Jefferson County.

Feet.

a. Light-colored sand _ _________________ 5-10 

&. Line of chert pebbles __________________ ?

c. Soil and sand______________________________ 8

d. Light-grayish sandy clay_____________ ______ 9 

e. Very light pink colored clay, containing numerous wellpreserved dicotyledonous leaves- _ _ __ 8 

/. Similar to layer-"*"________________________ 9 

g. Dark lignitic clays, containing two bands of lignite, separated from the overlying bed by a seam of pure lignite 

from 3 to 6 inches thick____________________ 5-9 

Unconformity.

1 See quotation on p. 83 of this report.

2 Call, R. E., Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. Rept. for 1889, vol. 2, pp. 7-9, 1891. 

8 Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. Rept. for 1892, vol. 2, pp. 87-94, 1894.
80 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Feet.

h. White sand, stained yellowish in places__________ 4-8 

i. Evenly laminated dark lignitic and more or less sulphurous shaly clay; between this bed and the former 

are occasional ferruginous concretions__________ 11 

j. Dark-bluish sandy marl, containing an abundant molluscan

fauna in its lower portion__________________ 22

Harris says further (p. 91) :

In tracing these various beds down the river from White Bluff, they were 

observed to be fairly persistent and to decline sufficiently in this direction to 

carry the lower bed j beneath the water within a distance of 1J miles. Near 

the lower end of the bluff one feature is especially prominent, namely, the 

line of chert pebbles. Prof. Call, as remarked above, laid special stress on 

the singular absence of such pebbles in situ along this bluff; he probably did 

not visit this portion of the escarpment. A few hundred yards below the place 

represented in figure 16, huge angular blocks of bed e, or the leaf-bearing pinkish clay, have broken off and fallen to the base of the bluff. Vast quantities 

of leaf impressions were observed in them.

From the lowermost layer of the section, Harris identified the following species:

Ostrea sp.

Nucula magnifica Conrad (small).

Leda albirupina Harris.

Venericardia planicosta Lamarck.

Cytherea discoiclalis Conrad.

Tellina sp.

Corbula nasuta Conrad var.

Mactra albirupina Harris.

Dentalium minutistratum Gabb.

Actseon pomilius Conrad.

Bullinella jacksonensis Harris var.

exta.

Terebra sp. 

Pleurotoma near P. lonsdalii Lea.

Pleurotoina near P. children! Lea.

Cancellaria impressa Conrad.

Volutilithes petrosus Conrad.

Mitra millingtoni Conrad.

Pseudoliva vetusta Conrad.

Mazzalina inaurata Conrad.

Levifusus branneri Harris.

Fusus sp.

Phos albirupina Harris.

Turritella arenicola var. branneri

Harris.

Turritella clevelandia Harris. 

Solarium bellastriatum Conrad. 

Natica eminula Conrad.

Discussing these fossils, Harris says:

The general aspect of this fauna is indeed Claibornian, as was suggested by 

Heilprin and maintained more confidently by Call.

Yet the presence of such forms as Solarium bellastriatum, Mitra millingtoni, 

and Bullinella jacksonensis var., show that the fauna is uppermost Claibornian 

or perhaps transitional between that and the Jackson. The most common 

fossils obtained at this locality are: Venericardia planicosta, Turritella arenicola var. branneri, M-aszalina inaurata, Pseudoliva vetusta, Cytherea discoidalis, 

and Volutilitnes petrosus, all of which are found in Arkansas associated with 

typical Jackson fossils, as will be shown further on.

In 1892 Harris,1 in discussing the Arkansas River localities, said:

At the time of writing my report on the Tertiary of Arkansas (1892), I felt 

strongly inclined to refer the fossiliferous beds at White Bluff, on Arkansas 

River, to the Jackson; yet they had always been referred to the Claiborne,

1 Harris, G. D., The geology of the Mississippi embayment, with especial reference to 

the State of Louisiana: Louisiana Geol. Survey, pt. 6, p. 22, 1902.
GEOLOGY. 81

and there seemed not enough positive evidence in favor of the Jackson affinities 

to entirely warrant the change. Since then some of the new or supposedly new 

species from White Bluff have been found in abundance at Jackson, Miss., and 

at well-developed Jackson beds throughout Louisiana and east Texas. The Red 

Bluff beds, upstream a few miles from White Bluff, seem to be of the same 

horizon; and although I have not visited Crowleys Ridge personally, I feel quite 

confident, from Call's description of the beds and associated fossils, together 

with his correlations, that all should be placed in one and the same group. 

Accordingly the map of the Embayment area, as herewith published, shows the 

Jackson for the first time with its most probable northern distribution.

Call 1 describes a locality at Red Bluff, on Arkansas River, as 

follows:

There is an instructive section at Red Bluff, Jefferson County, in 3 S., 11 W., 

NE. i of SE. i sec. 12. At this locality there is exposed a section about fiveeighths of a mile in length; the highest point, where the section was observed, 

is 276 feet above mean tide level. It is at the ferry, which is half a mile east 

of the western limit of the exposure. The section is best exhibited in a gully 

which enters the river at right angles to the face of the cliff. All the strata 

seen are horizontal.

Call's section is in substance as follows:

Section at Red Bluff, ArJcansas River, Jefferson County.

Eocene (Jackson formation) : Feet.

Light-colored fine, very sandy humus, with scattered 

chert pebbles up to one-half inch in diameter_____ 0.5

Soft light-yellow argillaceous sand, becoming darker 

below; contains numerous nodules of limonite_____ 2.5

Dark carbonaceous earthy clay of varying thickness, less 

sandy than the overlying layer; resembles an old soil_ . 5

Irregularly stratified mottled .sands and clays, lightyellow and brick-red predominating, with an occasional 

small pocket of white sand________________ 4

Irregularly bedded sandstone forming a vertical and jutting face, thickest and hardest 100 feet west of the 

ferry; weathering on the upper surface, which occurred previous to the deposition of the overlying 

layer, is evidenced by potholes, ridges, etc.; the lower 

part of the sand is more regularly stratified than the 

upper part, and is of a brick-red color. Detached 

masses at the foot of the bluff contain pockets of pure 

white vitreous sand and very bright yellow and red 

potter's clay. Some of the layers of sandstone, especially the upper part, contain very hard tubes cemented with oxidized, manganiferous iron containing 

white sand____________.. __ 10.5

Soft yellow to reddish sand, with masses of bluish and 

yellowish potter's clay, becoming hard and intensely 

red at base__________________________ 8

. B., Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. Kept, for 1889, vol. 2, pp. 10-13, 1891. 

11674° WSP 399 16 6
82 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Eocene (Jackson formation) Continued. Feet.

Fine dark to black, irregularly stratified, slightly sandy 

clay, with much selenite, chiefly in the form of starshaped clusters, up to several inches in length __ 20

Dark-brown fossiliferous sandstone, with unidentifiable 

fossils; the cement of the sandstone is iron oxide; the 

layer forms a jutting ledge along the bluff- __ . 5

Light-bluish, slightly sandy clay, containing numerous 

needle-like and stellate crystals of selenite, especially 

abundant toward the basal portion. _ 23

Call says, further:

The Eocene Ostrea bed, or shell marl, which usually underlies this member 

of the Tertiary in all Arkansas outcrops, is to be seen at low water near the 

west end of this bluff. Close by the point of the above section a nodulous sandy 

marl similar to that at White Bluff and having the same fossils was observed, 

but its stratigraphic relations could not be determined because cf the very 

heavy talus. It is thought that this marl bed is not quite horizontal in any 

portion of the region examined from the fact that it is seen at times rather 

high up in sections, and again it occurs only as lenticular masses in the bottom 

of streams and gullies. It is not a constant member of either this section or of 

that at White Bluff, appearing only at points in them.

Quotations from a paper by Gilbert D. Harris on the " Geology of 

the Mississippi embayment," which contains a discussion of the correlation of the White Bluff and Bed Bluff sections, are given on 

pages 79-81.

COBRELATION.

The Eocene strata which outcrop in Crowleys Ridge from the 

northern part of St. Francis County southward nearly to the southern extremity of the ridge in Phillips County are correlated with 

the Jackson formation on the evidence of fossils obtained from an 

exposure of marl on Little Crow Creek, about 3 miles east of Forrest 

City, and from a boring at Helena. The Eocene age of the marl was 

recognized by Owen 1 as early as 1860.

The Jackson age of the bed was first suggested by Harris, whose 

discussion of the subject is given in a quotation on pages 80-81 of this 

report.

The first positive determination of the age of the marl on Little 

Crow Creek was that of T. Wayland Vaughan, who collected and 

identified the species listed on page 78; he correlates the bed with the 

marl at the base of White Bluff, which Harris has determined to be 

of Jackson age.

The fossils from the boring at Helena were first referred by Hilgard to the lower part of the Claiborne formation but were later 

shown by Harris to include characteristic Jackson species. Harris 2 

says:

1 Second report of a geological reconnaissance of the middle and southern counties of 

Arkansas, pp. 412-420, 1860.

2 Geology of the Mississippi embayment: Louisiana Geol. Survey, pt. 6, pp. 22, 23, 1902.
GEOLOGY. 83

It should be mentioned in this place that we have had access to Hilgard's 

type specimens from Helena [from the boring just mentioned] and Choctaw Bar 

[from four borings], and have found that his specific determinations of molluscan fossils is not of the most satisfactory kind. The species are the same 

in general as at White Bluff, Ark., hence, as shown above, of Jackson age.

In a footnote Harris lists the following.species from the borings 

at Helena and Choctaw Bar:

Helena, boring No. 2.

Dentalium (very nearly smooth but 

with traces of longitudinal striation).

Volutilithes petrosus Conrad (fragments).

Corbula wailesiana Harris.

Corbula sp.

Phos hilli Harris (var.).

Pseudoliva vetusta (Conrad).

Pleurotoma denticula Basterct.

Actseon sp.

Natica sp.

Choctaw Bar, boring No. 1.

Venericardia planicosta Lamarck.

Dentalium (as at Helena).

Cadulus sp.

Pleurotoma sp.

Actseon sp.

Turritella (very small, unicarinate at

base). 

Phos hilli Harris.

Choctaw Bar, boring No. 2.

Phos hilli Harris. 

Natica (small). 

Pleurotoma infans Meyer.

Levifusus trabeatus Harris.

Cancellaria sp.

Corbula (small), probably C..wailesiana

Harris.

Turritella clevelandia Harris. 

Venericardia rotunda Lea. 

Volutilithes petrosus Conrad. 

Actseon sp. 

Calyptraphorus velatusConrad (tip).

Choctaw Bar, boring No. 4-

Turritella (small, sharply bi-carinate).

Phos hilli Harris.

Oliva cf. O. gracilis Lea.

Natica (small).

Venericardia parva Lea.

Corbula wailesiana Harris.

Choctaw Bar, boring No. 5.

Pseudoliva vetusta (Conrad). 

Natica (small). 

Pleurotoma denticula Basterot. 

Venericardia planicosta Lamarck. 

Turritella (tip, bicarinate). 

Volutilithes petrosus Conrad. 

Corbula wailesiana Harris. 

Actseon sp.

The borings at Helena and Choctaw Bar were described by Hilgard* in 1884. The log of boring No. 2 at Helena is given on page 

238 of this report. Choctaw Bur is a few miles above Arkansas City 

in Desha County, Ark. The fossils from the borings at this place 

were taken at depths between 151 and 185.2 feet.

The total thickness of Eocene strata overlying the marl exposed 

on Little Crow Creek and penetrated in the boring at Helena probably does not exceed 200 feet. The thickness of the Jackson formation in Mississippi has been estimated to be between 350 and 450 

feet, and if this is a correct estimate it seems reasonable to assume

1 U. S. Mississippi River Commission Ann. Rept. for 1883; Appendix T T of the Ann. 

Bept. of the Chief of Engineers for 1884, pp. 2891-2896 (published 1884). (Published 

also as House Ex. Doc. 37, 48th Cong., pp. 486-490, 1884.)
84 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

that the 100 feet or less of strata which overlie the marl bed of lower 

Jackson age in Crowleys Ridge in St. Francis, Lee, and Phillips counties is referable to the Jackson formation. Strata of Jackson age 

probably underlie the alluvium of Mississippi River valley from 

Helena, Phillips County, to Arkansas City, Desha County.

TTNDIFFERENTIATED EOCENE.

Undifferentiated strata of Eocene age outcrop in the upland southwest of Arkansas River, in Pulaski, Sabine, Grant, and Jefferson 

counties. These are described by Veatch 1 as consisting of "lignitiferous clays and sands; containing no distinctive marine fossils."

In the northwestern part of Lonoke County, east of Cabot and 

south of Austin, is a hilly tract of country rising 100 to 125 feet above 

the level of the Advance lowland, or 350 to 375 feet above sea level; 

the exact limits of the area have not been determined, but the northsouth extent is believed to be 10 or 12 miles and the east-west extent 

5 or 6 miles. These hills appear to be composed mainly of coarse 

reddish ferruginous sand, with subordinate lenses and layers of drab 

clay, reaching a thickness of 100 feet or more. The weathered sands 

form the main constituent of the soils, and the clays are exposed at 

numerous places along the roads and in fields. These strata overlie 

deposits of undoubted Midway age and are believed to belong to the 

Eocene, though they are as yet Undifferentiated. (See geologic map, 

PI. II, p. 30.)

The following section is poorly exposed in the ditches of the 

public road one-half mile south of the station at Austin:

Section in public road one-half mile south of the station at Austin, Lonoke

County.

Eocene: Feet. 

3. Reddish, ferruginous, coarse sand with occasional lenses 

of drab clay, and toward the base containing mechanically included clay balls; the materials are poorly 

exposed and much weathered_____ _____ 40 

2. Drab weathered clay____________ _ ____ 5 

1. Massive, weathered, glauconitic sand; the glauconite

grains are partially weathered to brown________ 4

49

In the Advance lowland west of Crowleys Ridge and the Mississippi lowland east of Crowleys Ridge stratified sands, clays, and 

marls of Eocene age, underlie 100 to 225 feet of alluvial material, 

and dip away from the rim of the Mississippi embayment at the rate 

of a few feet a mile. The Eocene deposits probably reach a maximum thickness of 1,000 to 1,200 feet or more within the area under 

consideration, and they rest upon deposits of Cretaceous age.

1 Veatch, A. C., Geology and underground water resources of northern Louisiana and 

southern Arkansas: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 46, p. 40, 1906.
GEOLOGY. 85

The buried Eocene deposits probably represent, in ascending order, 

the Midway, Wilcox, Claiborne, and Jackson formations. Although 

a number of well borings have penetrated the deposits, data sufficient 

for differentiating the several formations named have not been obtained. However, considerations of structure make it possible in 

some places to determine with a fair degree of certainty the formation to which the water-bearing beds belong.

PLIOCENE SERIES.

LAFAYETTE FORMATION.

GENEEAL FEATURES.

Name. The name Lafayette is derived from Lafayette County, 

Miss., where materials once regarded as typical of the formation to 

which the name was intended to apply are exposed in railroad cuts 

and natural sections, particularly in the vicinity of Oxford. The 

history of the events leading up to the adoption of the name has been 

given by McGee.1 As recent investigations have shown that the socalled Lafayette formation includes geologic deposits ranging in 

age from Cretaceous to Pleistocene, and as the deposits at the type 

locality are of Wilcox Eocene age, the name is unsatisfactory. It is 

tentatively used in this paper, pending consideration now being given 

to the complex of constituents included in the formation.

In certain parts of the Mississippi embayment, including parts of 

Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois east of Mississippi 

River, and Missouri and Arkansas west of that stream, are upland 

deposits of gravel and sand, to which the term " Orange sands " was 

applied previous to the adoption of the name'Lafayette and which 

the name Lafayette was intended to cover. In this connection it 

should be stated that Safford,2 who in 1856 introduced the term 

" Orange sand," did not clearly distinguish between the gravels and 

sands of later geologic age and the underlying Eocene sands and 

clays, although he seems never to have fully concurred with Hilgard, 

McGee, and others in regarding his Orange sand as a distinct surficial 

formation. Other subsequent investigators in Tennessee and Mississippi failed to make the same distinction. At a conference 3 held in 

San Francisco in 1891, and participated in by McGee, Hilgard, Loughridge, and LeConte, it was decided that the name Lafayette should 

supplant the name " Orange sands," and the beds exposed at Oxford, 

Lafayette County, were chosen as the type locality of the formation.

1 McGee, W J, The Lafayette formation: U. S. Geol. Survey Twelfth Ann. Rept., pt. 1, 

pp. 498-502, 1891.

2 Safford, J. M., A geological reconnaissance of the State of Tennessee, p. 162, 1856. 

3 U. S. Geol. Survey Twelfth Ann. Rept., pt. 1, pp. 500-501, 1891.
86 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

On the evidence of fossil plants Berry 1 has recently shown that 

the so-called type exposures of the Lafayette formation at Oxford 

are of Eocene age and referable to the Wilcox formation; the name, 

therefore, was unfortunately chosen. It is now demonstrated that 

gravel deposits similar to those referred to the Lafayette formation occur as terraces and valley fillings along the principal streams 

of the Coastal Plain and represent geologic formations of several 

different ages. The differentiation, characterization, and correlation of the terraces and associated fluvial phenomena are in progress, 

but the studies are not sufficiently advanced to correlate with confidence the phenomena of one area with those of another. Therefore 

the designation of certain gravel deposits in Tennessee, Kentucky, 

southern Illinois, and northeastern Arkansas as Lafayette is only 

provisional, for the gravels designated Lafayette in this report may 

subsequently be shown to be in part of Pleistocene age.

The distribution and character of the Lafayette formation in the 

Mississippi embayment east of Mississippi River have been treated 

by Crider 2 and Glenn,3 the former with reference to Mississippi and 

the latter with reference to Tennessee, Kentucky, and southern 

Illinois.

Areal distribution. The Lafayette formation is present in Crowleys Ridge throughout its entire extent from Stoddard County, Mo., 

to Phillips County, Ark. East of Mississippi Kiver it is broadly developed over the northwestern part of Mississippi, the western parts 

of Tennessee and Kentucky, and the southern part of Illinois, where it 

rests upon Eocene and Cretaceous strata and laps over upon the Paleozoic rocks. Its detailed distribution in these States has, however, not 

been determined, and the formation is known to be absent in certain 

areas where it has heretofore been supposed to exist.

The formation is represented along the western margin of the Mississippi embayment in Arkansas by scattered deposits of gravel and 

sand which overlie the Eocene deposits in the Grandglaise terrace and 

occupy the east-facing slopes of the hills of the Ozark province; 

their distribution has not been determined in detail.

Stratigraphic relations. In Crowleys Ridge the formation rests 

with a marked unconformity upon the beveled edges of the Wilcox, 

Claiborne, and Jackson formations; the contact varies in vertical 

position from near or a few feet above the level of the Mississippi 

lowland to 100 feet or more above that datum. Owing to disturbances 

in the nature of creep^ landslides, and redeposition to which the ma1 Berry, E. W., The age of the type exposures of the Lafayette formation : Jour. Geology, 

vol. 19, pp. 249-256, 1911.

2 Crider, A. F., Geology and mineral resources of Mississippi: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 

283, pp. 44-46, 1906.

3 Glenn, L. C., Underground waters of Tennessee and Kentucky west of Tennessee 

River and of an adjacent area in southern Illinois: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply 

Paper 164, pp. '40-43, 1906.
GEOLOGY. 87

terials have been subjected, it is difficult at many places to determine 

whether or not they are in their original place of deposition, and this 

fact has led to some confusion as to the stratigraphic relations of the 

deposits. However, there is abundant evidence to show that the deposits were laid down upon a strongly eroded surface.

In Crowleys Ridge the formation is overlain by deposits of loess of 

Pleistocene age and the relation between the two formations is believed to be that of nonconformity; this determination is based on 

sections examined east of Wynne, in Cross County (pp. 71, 92, 109); 

east of Forrest City, in St. Francis County (pp. 76, 93); and north of 

Helena, in Phillips County (pp. 94, 95 ) 2 where unconformities more 

or less clearly denned have been noted. At some of the exposures in 

Crowleys Ridge, however, the contact between the two classes of deposits is not clearly denned. This interpretation is in substantial 

agreement with the conclusions of other investigators in adjacent 

areas. With reference to the attitude of the two formations in 

southern Illinois, Chamberlin and Salisbury 1 say:

The erosion slopes of the hills, cut out of the horizontally though irregularly 

stratified sands and gravels, are thus seen to be strewn with gravel, sandstone 

d6bris, and ferruginous concretions, originating from the same series higher on 

the slope. Overspreading the whole, covering the crests of the hills and the 

eroded edges of the sand and gravel layers, together with their thin covering of 

local debris, as above indicated, is the mantle of loess. It is absent only where 

recent erosion has been sufficient to effect its removal. How far the uniformity 

of distribution of loess over regions of strongly accentuated relief may be due to 

the creep of the plastic material down the slopes, is not here discussed; but this 

is not believed to be an adequate explanation of its uniform slope distribution. 

The loess and its clayey equivalents are confidently believed to have been deposited like a mantle over a previously eroded surface. If the body of the hills 

be Paleozoic rock with only a capping of gravel and sand the relation of the loess 

to the latter is not altered.

In a discussion of the relation of the Pleistocene deposits to the 

underlying Lafayette formation in the Mississippi embayment east of 

Mississippi River Glenn 2 says:

At some places along the Mississippi bluffs and in a belt 10 to 20 miles wide 

east of the bluffs the loess seems to rest unconformably directly on the 

Lafayette sands or gravels. At other places, however, there is a distinctly 

differentiated bed of soft, loose, light-colored sand between the two. This 

sand often contains rounded pebbles similar to those of the Lafayette beneath, 

from which they have evidently been derived. Like the sand, which may also 

have originated from the Lafayette, the pebbles are usually bleached to a light 

gray. This difference in color and the softness of the sand serve to differentiate 

the deposit at once from the red, case-hardened Lafayette beneath. This sand

1 Chamberlin, T. C., and; Salisbury, R. D., On the relationship of the Pleistocene to the 

pre-Pleistocene formations of the Mississippi basin south of the limit of glaciation: Am. 

Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 41, pp. 367, 368, 1891.

3 Glenn, L. C., Underground waters of Tennessee and Kentucky west of Tennessee River 

and of an adjacent area in Illinois: IT. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 164, p." 44, 

1906.
88 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

may range in thickness up usually to 4 or 5, and exceptionally to 10 or 12 feet, 

and may attain its maximum and disappear again in 100 or 200 yards.

It [the sand] commonly though not everywhere shows distinct unconformity 

on the Lafayette beneath and as a rule seems to grade upward into the lower, 

darker part of the loess without any perceptible break. Where the sand seems 

to be absent the lowest part of the loess is usually somewhat sandy, and may 

contain a small pebble here and there for several feet upward from its base. 

It is likely that in such cases the sandy basal part of the loess is the representative of the sand found elsewhere.

From the last quotation given it would appear that in Tennessee 

and Kentucky the loess, or the thin bed of soft sand which in places 

occurs at the base of the loess, rests imconformably upon the 

Lafayette formation.

Locally, on the higher parts of Crowleys Eidge north of Craighead 

County the loess has been eroded away leaving the gravels capping the 

tops of the hills.

Lithologic character, The Lafayette formation in Crowleys Ridge 

is composed of irregularly bedded gravels and coarse sands. In 

general heavy beds of gravel occupy the base of the formation and 

consist mainly of subangular to partly waterworn pebbles and cobbles of chert, the latter rarely exceeding a foot in longest dimension. 

(See PI. VIII, A.) The pebbles and cobbles were derived from the 

cherty limestones of the Ozark province, as indicated by the contained fossils of Paleozoic age. In places fragments of sandstone 

and quartzite, more or less waterworn, are mixed through the 

gravels; these fragments were derived in part from the quartzites 

of the Wilcox formation exposed in the northern part of Crowleys 

Ridge, and in part from the Paleozoic rocks of the Ozark province. 

At most of the exposures of gravel occasional small, smooth, waterworn pebbles of quartz may be found. (See p. 99.)

At some of the exposures revealing the thicker parts of the formation the basal gravels are overlain by coarse cross-bedded sands with 

numerous lenses and layers of gravel of greater or less extent; locally 

thin layers of laminated clay have been noted in the sands. At some 

places the gravels and sands are intermixed with lumps of mechanically, derived clay.

Both the sands and gravels are varicolored and have been strongly 

oxidized. At many places the basal gravels have been cemented by 

iron oxide into a hard, ferruginous conglomerate, and at a few places 

the sands have been observed partially indurated to red sandstones. 

These indurated masses have formed where percolating waters carrying iron oxide in solution have had their downward circulation 

checked by compact layers of clay or other impervious materials.

Thickness. The Lafayette formation in Crowleys 'Ridge ranges 

in thickness from a few feet to a maximum observed thickness of 80 

feet. The difference in thickness at different places is due in part
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 899 PLATE VIII

A. GRAVEL OF THE LAFAYETTE FORMATION EXPOSED IN THE 

WEST SLOPE OF CROWLEYS RIDGE NEAR COLT, ST. FRANCIS 

COUNTY.

B GRAVEL CF . H£ LAFAYETTE FORMATION EXPOSED IN A PIT OF THE ST. LOUIS, IRON 

MOUNTAIN & SOUTHERN RAILWAY 2 MILES WEST OF NEWARK, INDEPENDENCE COUNTY.

GEOLOGY. 89

to the unconformable relations of the formation to the underlying 

Eocene deposits, in part to the variable amounts of materials deposited at different places and in part to the erosion which followed the 

deposition of the materials. The maximum observed thickness of 

the formation (80 feet) in Crowleys Ridge is in the section at the 

Big Spring, 2^ miles north of Helena, Phillips County.

Physiographic expression. In so far as Crowleys Ridge is composed of the materials of the Lafayette formation the ridge is a 

topographic expression of the formation. The outcropping beds of 

gravel have determined in part the detailed topographic features of 

the slopes of the ridge. From Craighead County northward the 

loess has been removed from the top of the ridge at numerous places 

by erosion, leaving the gravels as the capping materials; at such 

places the resistance to erosion offered by the gravels is checking 

what would otherwise be a rapid reduction in the height of the ridge.

LOCAL DETAILS.

Gravels and sands of the Lafayette formation are exposed at many 

places in Crowleys Ridge throughout its length, from Stoddard 

County, Mo., to Phillips County, Ark. Detailed descriptions of 

many localities have been given by Call,1 who, however, did not 

clearly differentiate this formation from the underlying Eocene 

sands, which, with the sands and gravels of the Lafayette formation, 

he included in the so-called " Orange sands."

At most places in Crowleys Ridge the basal part of the Lafayette 

formation consists of a heavy bed of gravel which rests with a 

marked unconformity upon the underlying Eocene sands or clays, 

and, with local exceptions, no difficulty is found in determining the 

contact between the deposits of the two ages.

Deposits of sand and gravel in the form of erosion remnants occur 

at many places along the western border of the Mississippi embayment, some forming a part of the Grandglaise terrace and others resting upon the Paleozoic rocks of the Ozark province.

A few typical sections will be described in this report.

Clay Comity. According to Call 2 (p. 57 of this report) the summit of the ridge at Chalk Bluff, on St. Francis River, in the northern 

part of Clay County, is capped with fine gravels and coarse sands.

Southwest of Chalk Bluff, in Clay County, the gravels have been 

observed at numerous places on the crest and on the slopes of Crowleys Ridge. Where they occur on the divide they are covered with 

a few feet of loess, except locally, where the latter has been removed 

by erosion.

1 Call, R. B., The geology of Crowleys Ridge: Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. Kept, for 

1889, vol. 2, pp. 30-142, 1891.

2 Idem, pp. 114, 115.
90 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

On the Boydsville-Gainesville road, 2 or 2| miles southwest of 

Boydsville, a bed of indurated gravel cemented with iron oxide 

forms a hard, ferruginous conglomerate capping the divide of the 

ridge.

The loess of Clay County is nearly everywhere underlain by coarse 

dark red sands, in places pebbly, which appear to grade upward into 

the more typical loess. Whether this sand belongs to the Lafayette 

formation or should be considered a sandy phase of the loess was 

not determined.

Greene County. Exposures of the formation are numerous in 

Greene County. A section exposed in a public road one-eighth of 

a mile west of Gainesville is as follows:

Section in public road one-eighth of a mile west of Gainesville.

Feet. 

Pleistocene (loess):

Light-colored loam__ _________ ________ 4 

Red loamy clay__________________________ 2 

Pliocene (?) (Lafayette formation) :

Gravel consisting of pebbles of chert of different colors, 

brown predominating, tip to 5 inches in longest diameter, with an intermixture of small, smoothly waterworn pink and white quartz pebbles; locally indurated 

to a ferruginous conglomerate_______________ . 5 

Coarse red, somewhat argillaceous sand__________ 6

12.5

Three and one-half miles west of Gainesville the road leading to 

Beech Grove crosses a ridge 200 feet higher than the lowland to the 

west (aneroid reading); 30 feet below the top of the ridge a bed of 

gravel is poorly exposed in the slope and is overlain by a red phase 

of loess.

From 4 to 7 miles west of Paragould where a public road crosses 

the highest part of the ridge (475 to 500 feet above sea level) are 

beds of gravel not exceeding an observed thickness of 5 feet, overlain, 

except locally, by 1 to 5 feet of brownish or reddish loam (loess). 

The gravels consist chiefly of gray, brown, and pink subangular to 

fairly well rounded pebbles of flint and chert up to 6 inches in 

length, with a considerable percentage of white, partially rounded to 

smoothly rounded pebbles of quartz up to 1 inch in length.

An exposure on Poplar Creek, NW. i sec. 10, T. 16 N., E. 4 E., 

which reveals 30 feet of materials referable to this formation, has 

been described by Call.1 This section is given on page 60 of this 

report.

1 Call, R. E., op. cit., p. 111.
GEOLOGY. 91

Craighead County. An exposure in a gully on the old William 

Lane place, 4 miles northeast of Bono, Craighead County, sec. 9, 

T. 15 N., B. 3 E., which shows the relation of the Lafayette formation 

to the underlying Wilcox formation and to the overlying loess, is 

described on page 61.

One of the best exposures of the formation in Crowleys Eidge is 

on the farm of Mrs. Mahala Shelton, 6 miles southwest of Jonesboro, 

on the south side of one of the small headwater streams of L'Anguille 

Eiver. The section is about 200 feet long and 45 to 50 feet high; 

the base of the section in the bed of the stream is a few feet lower 

than the level of the lowland to the west.

Section on the Shelton farm, 6 miles southwest of Jonesboro.

Feet. 

Pleistocene:

Loess mixed with pebbles, with a thin layer of pebbles 

along the base (varies in thickness along the bluff from 

2 to 6 feet) ; this material has probably all crept down 

the slope from a higher level, which explains the unconformable relation of the loess to the 'underlying 

Lafayette formation at this locality ___ 4 

Unconformity. 

Pliocene ? (Lafayette formation) :

Coarse, red sand grading downward into coarse gray 

sand, the whole crossbedded (varies in thickness along 

the bluff from 6 to 10 feet)________________ 10 

Pebbles and sand intermixed, containing lumps of white

plastic clay_________________________ 4 

Coarse, strongly crossbedded, pink-tinted sand, forming

as a whole a nearly horizontal bed_________ 13 

Sand and gravel interstratifled_________________ 4 

Massive to cross-bedded gravel consisting mainly of subangular to partly waterworn brown chert pebbles and 

cobbles, reaching a maximum dimension of 1 foot; red, 

pink, gray, and black chert pebbles were also observed; a 

few small, smoothly waterworn pink and white quartz 

pebbles occur mixed with the chert. The thickness 

varies along the bluff from 4 to 11 feet__________ 11 

Unconformity. 

Eocene (Wilcox formation) :

Coarse white to yellow cross-bedded sand (varies in thickness along the bluff from 4 to 11 feet)__________ 4

50

Poinsett County. Gravels of the Lafayette formation are poorly 

exposed on the west-facing slope of Crowleys Eidge at Harrisburg, 

Poinsett County. The main bed crops out on the crest of the steep 

part of the slope about 75 feet above the level of the Advance lowland, and .talus gravels occur at numerous places below the crest.
92 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Although no clear-cut exposure was observed, the gravel bed probably 

exceeds 10 feet in thickness in the vicinity of the town. The gravels 

consist predominantly of brown, partially rounded to smoothly 

rounded pebbles of flint and chert, up to 1 foot in length, and some 

of them contain impressions of Paleozoic crinoids; a few of the 

chert pebbles are gray, pink, and red tinted. A noticeable proportion of the gravels consists of white, pink, and clear, partly rounded 

to smoothly rounded pebbles of quartz up to 1^ inches in length. The 

gravels in the vicinity of Harrisburg are overlain by loess which, 

on the higher parts of the ridge east of the town, probably reaches a 

maximum thickness of 25 feet or more.

Beds of gravel similar to those at Harrisburg occur on Crowleys 

Ridge practically throughout its length in Poinsett County. Call 1 

has described several localities and has recorded a maximum observed 

thickness of 40 feet of deposits referable to the formation.

Cross County. Five feet of gravel of the Lafayette formation is 

exposed above the Claiborne formation in the section near Cherry 

Valley, Cross County, described on page 69.

Near the west end of a cut of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & 

Southern Railway, 1 mile east of Wynne, the formation is seen in 

relation to the underlying Claiborne formation and to the overlying 

loess.

Section in an excavation for road metal 1 mile east of Wynne, near the west 

edge of Crowleys Ridge and just south of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain d 

Southern Railway.

Pleistocene (loess) : Feet. 

3. Gray loess grading downward into brown coarse sandy 

loess at base ; scattered pebbles present in the lower 

2 or 3 feet ___ r ______________ - ______ 10

Contact fairly sharp and undulates 2 or 3 feet in a distance 

of a few rods.

Pliocene (?) (Lafayette formation) :

2. Coarse gravel, consisting chiefly of subangular to fairly 

well rounded pebbles and cobbles of brown and gray 

flint and chert up to 6 inches in length, with a small 

percentage of smoothly rounded, white, pink-tinted, 

and clear quartz pebbles up to 1 inch in length ; the 

pebbles and cobbles are in a matrix of coarse, reddish sand ; a few inches to 1 foot of the basal portion 

of the bed is indurated to a hard ferruginous conglomerate _________________________ 16

Unconformity.

R. B., The geology of Crowleys Ridge: Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. Rept. for 

1889, vol. 2, pp. 77-83, 1891.
GEOLOGY. 93

Eocene (Claiborne formation) : Feet. 

1. Dark chocolate-tinted fine argillaceous massive sand, 

weathering to gray; contains numerous brown comminuted fragments of vegetable matter 8

34

The gravel as it occurs under the loess beneath the crest of Crowleys Eidge, 1J miles east of Wynne, is described in a section given 

on page 109 of this report.

Another instructive exposure on a small creek, 3 miles east of 

Wynne and one-eighth mile north of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & 

Southern Eailway, is described on page 70 of this report, and is 

illustrated by a graphic section showing the unconformable relation of the Lafayette formation to the underlying Claiborne formation, and the probably unconformable relation to the overlying Pleistocene deposits.

Gravels belonging to the formation are described in two sections 

given on pages 70 and 71, one located 2-| miles north of the site of old 

Wittsburg x and the other 4 miles east of Wynne. In each place the 

gravels rest upon the Claiborne formation.

St. Francis County. A section which reveals the formation resting upon the Jackson formation and overlain by loess is exposed on 

Little Crow Creek about 3 miles east of Forrest City and about oneeighth of a mile south of the Chicago, Eock Island & Pacific Eailway. 

This section is described on pages 76-78.

The formation is exposed at the base of a north-facing bluff of 

Little Crow Creek about 1 mile east of Forrest City and just south 

of the Chicago, Eock Island & Pacific Eailway. The section is as 

follows:

Section on Little Crow Creek, 1 mile east of Forrest City.

Pleistocene (loess) : Feet. 

3. Loess, faintly banded; becomes sandy and grades into

next layer below_________________^______ 50 

2. Light-gray fine compact sand with scattered pebbles__ 4 

Unconformity (?); contact is irregular but not very sharp. 

Pliocene (?) (Lafayette formation) :

1. Gravel composed chiefly of subangular to partly rounded 

pebbles of flint and chert up to 4 or 5 inches in 

length, with a small percentage of smoothly rounded 

white, clear, and pink quartz pebbles up to 1 inch 

in length; the matrix consists chiefly of coarse gray, 

red, and yellow sand; fine light-gray sand resembling 

that of layer No. 2 is mixed with the gravels to a 

depth of a few inches to a foot below the top_____ 6

60

1 Call, R. E., op. cit., pp. 69-71.
94 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Lee County. Phillips post office (now discontinued) was located 

at the foot of the east-facing slope of Crowleys Ridge near the southern boundary of Lee County. In a gully just west of the site of the 

post office the following section is exposed:

Section in a gully just west of the site of Phillips post office.

Pleistocene: Feet. 

4. Loess, sandy at base; one fragment of a land shell observed ____________________________ 10

Unconformity, probably due to the creep of the loess down

the slope from a higher level. 

Pliocene (?) (Lafayetteformation) :

3. Red cross-bedded pebbly calcareous sand, drying with 

a hard, harsh surface; contains spherical concretions 

of sand and calcium carbonate up to 3 or 4 inches in 

diameter, which in places are segregated into botryoidal clusters _______________________ 15 

2. Light-gray cross-bedded sand containing a few small 

pebbles and scattered spherical concretions of sand 

and calcium carbonate________ __ _____ 7

1. Gravel composed chiefly of iron-stained chert pebbles,

reaching a maximum diameter of 3 or 4 inches___ 10

42

Phillips County. The following section is exposed in a ravine just 

north of the "Big Spring" on the east side of the ridge, 2| miles 

north of Helena, Phillips County:

Section in ravine just north of "Big Spring" on the east side of Crowleys Ridge, 

2% miles north of Helena, Phillips County.

Pleistocene (loess) : Feet. 

Poorly exposed, except 30 or 40 feet of massive gray loess 

in the basal portion________________ ____ 130

Unconformity somewhat obscured by weathering.

Pliocene (?) (Lafayetteformation) :

Coarse gray, reddish, and yellowish, irregularly bedded 

sand, with numerous scattered pebbles and small to 

large lenses and layers of gravel, interbedded with subordinate thin layers of laminated pink and drab clay; 

thick lenses of coarse cross-bedded sand-were observed; 

in places the sands contain mechanically included balls 

of pink clay; gravel predominates in the basal 10 feet 

of the section, but is interbedded with, lenses of coarse 

sand; the pebbles consist chiefly of subangular to partly 

rounded flint and chert up to 3 or 4 inches in diameter, 

with a few small, smoothly rounded quartz pebbles 80

210
GEOLOGY. 95

The Lafayette materials of this section differ from those of most 

parts of the ridge north of Lee County in the predominance of sand 

and in the presence of thin beds of drab and pink-tinted, laminated 

clay. The gravels, however, appear to differ in no essential respect 

from the typical gravels observed at many localities in the ridge to 

the north. ,

The water of Big Spring emerges from the coarse gravel at the 

base of the Lafayette.

Near a small spring which emerges from the foot of the east slope 

of the ridge, one-quarter mile south of the Big Spring, are several 

gullies that reveal the contact between the Lafayette formation and 

the overlying loess. The section here is as follows:

Section in gullies near a small spring about %\ miles north of Helena and onequarter of a mile south of the Big Spring^ Phillips County.

Pleistocene (loess) : Feet. 

Poorly exposed, except 25 feet of gray calcareous massive

loess in the basal portion__________________ 80 

Unconformity; the contact as seen in several exposures is absolutely sharp and undulates through a vertical distance of a 

foot or more in small exposures (PI. IX, B). 

Pliocene (?) (Lafayetteformation) :

Coarse gray cross-bedded sand, variegated with pink, 

red, yellow, and black, with interbedded thin layers of 

laminated drab to pink clay; in places the sand contains 

pebbles and water-rolled lumps of pink and drab clay_ 25 

Concealed to the level of the Mississippi lowland_____ _ 15

120

Exposures in the northern outskirts of Helena at the foot of the 

east-facing slope of Crowleys Ridge reveal in places coarse, pebbly 

sands and gravels corresponding to the deposits referred to the 

Lafayette formation in the two preceding sections; at one place a 

layer of gravel 4 or 5 feet thick was observed immediately beneath 

the loess but the contact with the loess was not clearly exposed.

Western border of the Mississippi embayment. Scattered remnants of gravel were observed on the hills of the Ozark province west 

of McAlmont, Pulaski County.

Two miles west of Beebe, White County, the Ozark hills rise 40 or 

50 feet above the level of the Advance lowland. A few chert pebbles 

were observed scattered about on the Carboniferous sandstones and 

weathered shales which appear to compose the body of the hills.

Two miles south of Searcy the following section was examined in 

a cut of the Searcy branch of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific
96 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Railway on the east-facing scarp which separates the Ozark province 

from the Advance lowland:

Section in cut of Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway % miles south of

Searcy.

Pliocene (?) (Lafayette formation) : * Feet. 

Sandy loam____________________________ 1-3 

Gravel _______________.._______________ i-1

Unconformity.

Paleozoic (Carboniferous) :

Thin-bedded greenish-gray argillaceous sandstone____ 8

12

The loam and gravel of this section blanket down over the slopes 

of the hill.

One and one-half miles south of Searcy, on the road leading to 

Higginson, a bed of gravel 5 or 6 feet thick was observed resting 

on Paleozoic rocks and overlain by 1 to 2 feet of sand and sandy 

loam.

A short distance northwest of the town of Judsonia, which is at 

the northwestern border of the Advance lowland, the Ozark hills 

rise 50 to 75 feet above the lowland level. In places on these hills a 

thin covering of gravel of the Lafayette formation was observed resting on sandstone of Carboniferous age. The gravels consist chiefly 

of chert, but several small, smoothly rounded pebbles of quartz were 

seen.

In Jackson County the Grandglaise terrace is partly separated 

from the Paleozoic rocks to the west by small valleys. At some places 

on the northwest slope of the ridge thus formed are numerous rounded 

pebbles, cobbles, and bowlders, probably derived from a bed of gravel 

of the Lafayette formation.

Five feet of reddish ferruginous sand, with pebbles in the basal 

portion, considered referable to the Lafayette formation, appears in 

a section one-half mile south of Grandglaise and just west of the St. 

Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway. The sand rests on 

Eocene strata and is overlain by reddish loam of probable Pleistocene age. A description of this section is given on page 52 of this 

report.

About one-half mile north of Grandglaise very coarse gravel outcrops in the road; although poorly exposed, this bed probably rests 

upon Paleozoic rocks and is overlain by a loamy, claylike material, 

resembling a f acies of the loess of Crowleys Ridge.

At Newark and vicinity, in Independence County, Upper Cretaceous deposits form the body of the Grandglaise terrace and are 

overlain by deposits of gravel of the Lafayette formation which
GEOLOGY. 97

range in thickness from a few inches to 25 feet or more. The gravels 

are overlain by a few inches to an observed thickness of 5 or 6 feet of 

yellowish, brownish, and reddish, more or less sandy and pebbly loam, 

which is believed to be of Pleistocene age.

The best exposure of the gravels observed in the vicinity of Newark 

is in a ballast pit of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway on the edge of the Grandglaise terrace 2 miles west of the town. 

(See PI. VIII, B, p. 88-.)

Section exposed in a ballast pit of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern 

Railway 2 miles ivest of Newark, Independence County.

Pleistocene? (loess?) : Feet. 

Yellow and brownish pebbly and sandy loam________ 3

Contact obscured by weathering.

Pliocene (?) (Lafayetteformation) :

Gravel composed of subangular to smoothly rounded pebbles of brown, gray, and reddish chert up to 3 inches in 

length, with a few small lenses of coarse reddish sand 

and sandy clay; some of the pebbles bear the prints of 

Paleozoic fossils; a talus covering partly obscures the 

basal 5 or 6 feet_..______________________ 20

The base of this section is about 10 feet above the level of the Advance lowland, along the border of which the railroad extends east 

and west. In a section exposed in a gully 1 mile north of Magness, 

Independence County, gravel of the Lafayette formation was observed resting on glauconitic sands of Upper Cretaceous age and 

overlain by a few feet of pebbly loam. (See section, p. 38.)

A bed of gravel capping a hill 2 miles north of Newark is described 

in a section given on page 38. Gravels cap the Grandglaise terrace 

at numerous places between Dota and Cord.

Remnants of gravel deposits, believed to represent the Lafayette 

formation, are scattered about the east-facing slopes of the hills of the 

Ozark province between Black Rock and Powhatan, in Lawrence 

County.

A few pebbles, probably representing remnants of the Lafayette 

formation, occur on the slopes of the Ozark hills just west of the 

ferry at Tabor, Clay County.

CORRELATION.

The deposits of gravel and sand in Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, and southern Illinois to which the name Lafayette is applied, 

rest unconformably on Paleozoic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary strata 

and are overlain, in part, by loess of Pleistocene age. Exactly similar 

deposits of gravel and sand in Crowleys Ridge occupy an analogous 

position with reference to underlying Eocene strata of Wilcox, Clai11674° WSP 39^ 16 7
98 GEOLOGY AND GEOUND WATEES, NOETHEASTEEN AEKANSAS.

borne, and Jackson age and overlying deposits of loess of Pleistocene 

age. On lithologic and structural grounds the deposits in Crowleys 

Kidge may therefore be correlated with the gravels having the same 

relations east of Mississippi River.

The geologic series to which the Lafayette formation belongs has 

not been determined with certainty, chiefly because of the lack of 

paleontologic data. According to Chamberlin and Salisbury,1 the 

formation is separated from the overlying loess by an unconformity 

which is indicated by a well-marked structural break and by the 

oxidation to which the pre-loessial materials have been subjected.

At some localities in Crowleys Eidge the Lafayette formation 

appears to be separated from the loess by a well-marked unconformity, but at many places the contact is more or less obscure; the 

materials composing the former have undoubtedly been subjected to 

strong oxidation.

The best and most convincing argument for the pre-Pleistocene 

age of the Lafayette formation is that based on the composition of 

the gravels. On this subject Salisbury 2 says:

The gravels of Crowleys Ridge are, in all characteristics which are essential 

to the present discussion, like those of western Kentucky and Tennessee, like 

those of southern Illinois and southeastern Missouri. There are minor differences in their constitution, dependent on the differences of the rocks from which 

they are derived, but these are not especially significant, so far as the question 

of the age of the gravels is concerned. It is to be noted that the gravels of 

southern Illinois, of southeastern Missouri, of western Tennessee and Kentucky, 

as well as those of Crowleys Ridge, occupy a geographic position which makes 

it necessary to suppose that the drainage of the ice of the first episode passed 

through the region which they occupy. If these gravels date from this time 

they should contain pebbles of northern drift. It would not be necessary to suppose that all the gravel deposited by a stream springing from the glacier would 

necessarily be northern, since extra-glacial tributaries might bring in material 

from extra-glacial sources in the ordinary process of river degradation. But 

emphasize the importance of this latter consideration as we may, it yet remains an 

indisputable fact that were the conditions of drainage such that tributaries could 

bring gravel to their main in great quantities, the main itself, if springing from 

the ice, would inevitably bring something of glacial debris, which would be 

found mixed with the material of more local origin, which the tributaries might 

have brought in. And this would be true even if the accumulation of the gravels 

took place at an early stage of the glaciation of the first episode, long before 

the ice approached the latitudes under consideration; for the drainage basin 

of the Mississippi reaches several hundreds of miles to the northward and 

probably extended still farther in that direction at an early stage of the ice 

invasion, when the ice had so far spread itself over the British possessions as 

to prevent drainage into Hudson's Bay.

1 On the relationship of the Pleistocene to the pre-Pleistocene formations of the Mississippi Basin south of the limit of glaciation: Am. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 41, pp. 359-377, 

1891.

2 On the relationship of the Pleistocene to the pre-Pleistocene formations of Crowleys 

Ridge and adjacent areas south of the limit of glaciation: Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. 

Rept. for 1889, vol. 2, pp. 240-242, 244, 1891.
GEOLOGY. 99

If, then, the Orange sands and gravels were accumulated during the first 

glaciation of the first glacial epoch, as valley or estuary deposits, we should of 

necessity have northern material a constituent of these sands and gravels. 

Such, however, is not the fact. In the hundreds of exposures of gravel which 

the writer has seen, large numbers of which in various localities in Arkansas 

and in the other States already named have been examined in detail for this 

especial purpose, not a single pebble of demonstrably northern origin has ever 

been found. Northern pebbles have been found associated with pebbles derived 

from the gravels under consideration, but only in such situations that the 

secondary character of the deposits containing such pebbles was certain, or 

altogether probable, from considerations entirely independent of those here 

noted. And the freedom from northern gravel and sand does not characterize 

the Orange sands simply in their more southern distribution, where the local 

material might naturally be more abundant than to the north, but even up to 

the northern limit of the Orange sand regions scarcely more than a score of 

miles from the southern border of the glacial drift, the northern pebbles are 

likewise altogether absent. And it is not simply glacial pebbles that are wanting. The absence of glacial sand and silt from the Orange sand formation is 

equally conspicuous and significant.

* * * :]: * * *

And even if an occasional northern Archean pebble should hereafter be found 

in the Orange sand, we should not, on the strength of this evidence alone, regard 

our conclusion as invalidated, for the drainage basin of the Mississippi reaches 

well back into the area of Archean rocks, and it would not be at all surprising 

if Archean pebbles from this source should have found their way into the 

lower Mississippi Valley before the glacial period.

At nearly all the localities of the Lafayette formation examined in 

Crowleys Eidge the gravels, which are composed predominantly of 

flint and chert, contain scattered, smoothly rounded quartz pebbles, 

few more than 1^ inches in diameter. The small size of the pebbles 

and the evident long-continued wear to which they have been subjected suggest that they have been transported great distances. 

E. W. Shaw is actively engaged in a study of this subject and suggests the following as possible sources of the quartz: The veins of 

quartz cutting the crystalline rocks in the northern part of the 

Mississippi basin, probably not an adequate source; conglomerates in 

the Paleozoic rocks of the upper Mississippi basin; postulated gravel 

deposits of Cretaceous andx Tertiary age in the same basin, now 

largely though probably not entirely, removed; and the crystalline 

rocks of the Piedmont area east of the Appalachian Mountains. The 

ultimate source of the quartz in the Paleozoic and later conglomerates of the upper Mississippi River basin would be either the crystalline rocks of Canada or those of the Piedmont; it seems improbable that any of the quartz has been derived from the Rocky Mountain region. The question of the possible transportation of quartz 

pebbles from the Piedmont region along the ancient drainage courses 

or shore lines has not been sufficiently studied.
100 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

The evidence seems to be convincing that the materials composing 

the Lafayette formation in Crowleys Eidge were deposited before 

the continental glaciers of Pleistocene time had brought their load 

of materials down the Mississippi Valley from the far north to 

within a relatively short distance of the head of the Mississippi 

embayment; in other words, they were deposited in pre-Pleistocene time. How long the deposition of the gravels and sands of the 

Lafayette formation antedated the beginning of the Pleistocene is 

a matter of conjecture. Probably, however, the time was relatively 

short, geologically speaking. The thinness of the formation, its 

nearly horizontal attitude, and the unconsolidated condition of the 

materials would seem to preclude the lapse of any great length of 

time between its deposition and the deposition of the overlying loess, 

for the oscillations to which the Mississippi embayment was subjected prior to Pleistocene time and the accompanying erosion would 

probably have resulted in the complete destruction of the formation. 

The formation is believed, therefore, to be of late Pliocene age.

Quaternary system.

PLEISTOCENE SERIES. 

LOESS.

AEEAL DISTRIBUTION.

In Arkansas the materials classed as loess cap Crowleys Kidge or 

mantle its slopes from the Missouri State boundary on the northern 

border of Clay County southward to the southern extremity of the 

ridge, near Helena, Phillips County. Fragmentary erosion remnants of yellowish, reddish, and brownish argillaceous loam, which 

probably represent the loess, occur along the western margin of the 

Mississippi embayment, in places capping the Grandglaise terrace 

and elsewhere resting upon the east-facing slopes of the hills of the 

Ozark province.

North of Arkansas the loess forms the capping material of Crowleys Eidge to its northern extremity in Stoddard County, Mo., and 

is also present on Benton Eidge in Scott County, Mo.

East of the Mississippi lowland the loess occurs on the upland in a 

belt 5 to 25 miles or more in width, paralleling the Chickasaw Bluffs, 

and extending from southern Illinois southward through Kentucky, 

Tennessee, and Mississippi to Louisiana.

The general distribution of loess in North America has been summarized by Chamberlin and Salisbury 1 as follows:

In North America the loess does not occur east of the Mississippi basin and 

has no great development east of the Wabash River. It is widespread in Illi1 Chamberlin, T. C., and Salisbury, R. D., A college textbook of geology, pp. 887, 888, 

1909.
GEOLOGY. 101

nois and the States along the Missouri and in the States along the Mississippi 

farther south. Within this area the distribution is peculiar in that it follows 

the main streams that led away from the lowan drift sheet, and is found especially on the bluffs overlooking the valleys. On this account it was formerly 

known as the Bluff formation. In this bluff position it has more than its average thickness and coarseness of grain, and grows thinner and finer in grain 

back from the river bluffs until it is lost in a vanishing edge. At the same 

time its material loses its distinctive characteristics.

Just south of the borders of the lowan and Wisconsin drift sheets it mantles 

many of the divides between the main streams, but farther south it is more confined to the valley borders. It has little regard for topography and can hardly 

be said to have an upper limit. Within the drift-covered part of the Mississipi basin it occurs (1) as a surface mantle overlying drift and (2) between 

sheets of drift. South of the drift there are in places distinct sheets of loess, 

sometimes separated by a well-developed soil zone. The surface of the lower 

sheet shows the effects of prolonged weathering and oxidation in some places. 

Loess occurs in isolated spots even as far west as Washington and Oregon.

STEATIGEAPHIC POSITION.

The loess forms the capping material of Crowleys Ridge, and where 

undisturbed from its original position rests on the Lafayette formation. The nature of the contact between the loess and the Lafayette 

formation in Crowleys Eidge is believed to be that of unconformity, 

for at several localities, notably in Cross, St. Francis, and Phillips 

counties, there is a structural break, more or less clearly marked, separating the two classes of deposits. (See PI. IX, Z?, and fig. 1, p. 71.) 

However, at many places the contact is obscured by weathering and its 

true character is difficult to detect. In the eastern and northern parts 

of the Mississippi embayment other investigators have observed an 

unconformity between the two formations. The time hiatus represented by this unconformity is believed to include an undetermined 

portion of early Pleistocene time, and perhaps a relatively brief portion of late Pliocene time.

Throughout the extent of Crowleys Ridge deposits of loess are 

found mantling the slopes of the ridge, at many places entirely to the 

base; in places it is obvious that disturbances in the nature of 

landslides, creep, or redeposition have taken place, but at many 

places it is not so apparent that shifting of this character has occurred. 

However, more of the mantling is probably to be explained in this 

way than has been supposed by previous students of the ridge.

At numerous places north of Craighead County the loess has been 

entirely removed from the crest of the ridge by erosion, leaving the 

Lafayette formation as the capping material.

LITHOLOGIC CHAKACTEB.

The loess of Crowleys Ridge presents several facies of gray, brown, 

or reddish silt, varying in composition from typical loess, of very fine 

texture, to both argillaceous and sandy facies of loess.
102 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

The composition of loess has been described by Chamberlin and 

Salisbury 1 as follows:

The term loess is used both as a textural and a formational name. Lithologically, it is a silt intermediate between sand and clay. It is generally free from 

stones of all sorts, except the concretions developed in it since its deposition. 

In the exceptional cases where stones occur in it, they are confined to its very 

bottom, or are found in loess which has slumped or been washed down from its 

original position. It is sometimes interstratified with sand, especially at its 

base, where it is thick. On slopes and at their bases loess is often mingled with 

slope wash, talus, etc.

The loess contains angular, undecomposed particles of the commoner carbonates (calcite and dolomite) and silicates (feldspars, amphiboles, pyroxenes, 

micas, etc.), and several of the rarer silicates have been identified. Magnetite 

also is a common, though never an abundant, constituent. All these are subordinate to quartz. These constituents strongly suggest that the material of the 

loess was derived from the flour of the glacial mill. In color it is predominantly 

buffish brown, but in not a few places it has a grayish (bluish) cast a few feet 

below the surface.

The loess often stands with vertical faces for long periods, where sand or clay 

would be degraded into slopes. Roads on the loess tend to assume the form of 

little canyons, because the silt of the roadbed is washed or blown away, while 

that on either side stands up with steep or even vertical slopes. Weathered 

faces of the loess often show a rude columnar structure, the columns being 1 to 

several feet in diameter. The loess, as a rule, shows no stratification, but in its 

coarser phases there is often some suggestion of such structure, and where interbedded with sand stratification is sometimes distinct.

In the more complete exposures of loess in Crowleys Ridge, as in 

the deep cut of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway at 

Wynne (p. 109), a distinct banding of the materials, due to slight 

differences in color, texture, and composition, is discernible. In the 

Wynne section and at a few other places in the ridge a nearly horizontal dark band, resembling an old soil, has been observed traversing the body of the loess 10 to 20 feet below the surface. This may 

be the same as the old soil which has been traced by E. W. Shaw, of 

the United States Geological Survey, throughout a considerable part 

of the Gulf embayment. Apparently it means that the deposition of 

the loess was interrupted by an erosion interval^ and this interval 

may have been between lowan and Wisconsin time.

Although the loess of Crowleys Ridge is in the main massive, evidences of stratification have been observed at some places, particularly toward the base of the deposits; at many places the loess grades 

downward into basal sands or clays. Pebbles are not uncommon in 

the basal materials.

In bluff and gully exposures and in artificial cuttings the loess tends 

to stand in vertical walls. (See Pis. VII, A, IX, A, and X, B.)

Ten samples of loess and residual clay from selected localities in 

Crowleys Ridge and one sample of doubtful loess from the GrandiQp. cit., pp. 885-887, 888.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 399 PLATE IX

A. LOESS EXPOSED IN A GULLY ON THE EASTWARD-FACING 

SLOPE OF CROWLEYS RIDGE NEAR HELENA, PHILLIPS COUNTY.

Loess

t UNCONFORMITY 

I Very sharp

Lafayette forma- 

>tion.Vari-colored 

cross-bedded 

sand,pebbly in 

I places

B. UNCONFORMABLE CONTACT BETWEEN THE LAFAYETTE FORMATION 

AND THE LOESS IN A GULLY NEAR A SMALL SPRING AT THE FOOT OF 

CROWLEYS RIDGE, A QUARTER OF A MILE SOUTH OF THE BIG SPRING 

AND 2M MILES NORTH OF HELENA.

GEOLOGY. 103

glaise terrace in Jackson County were submitted to E. W. Shaw, who 

has furnished the following report on their petrographic and mechanical characters:

The method used in studying the mineralogical composition of the specimens 

of loess consisted in examining first the material in its natural condition, the 

sample being taken from the interior of a specimen where there was no possibility of including extraneous dust; then a sample gotten by carefully washing 

a considerable amount of loess to get rid of the finest claylike particles; and, 

finally, particles obtained by treating this washed material with a heavy liquid, 

generally bromoform, to sort out the heaviest particles. The bromoform was 

usually diluted with benzene until it had a specific gravity of 2.75, sufficient to 

float the most abundant minerals, quartz, orthoclase, and microcline, and also 

the calcite which is present in some specimens, and allow the heavier particles, 

particularly the ferromagnesian minerals to settle to the bottom.

Specimen 26206: From 8 to 10 feet below surface in cut of St. Louis, Iron 

Mountain & Southern Railway 1£ miles east of Wynne, Ark. Full thickness 

of loess exposed at this place about 78 feet, apparently all in place. In general 

aspect this specimen is grayish-yellow with a slight brownish tinge, rather compact and claylike, and yet including numerous small, irregular tubes, probably 

root impressions running through it in various directions. Compared with 

average loess this specimen seems to be rather unusually fine grained and 

homogenous. Only a very small proportion of the grains are so fine that it is 

impossible or even difficult to determine their mineralogical identity. On the 

other hand, grains large enough to be ordinarily termed sand grains are rare. 

Besides quartz and orthoclase (which is more or less altered) other feldspars 

are present, and also biotite, hornblende, zircon, fluorite, rutile, tourmaline, and 

apatite. Epidote, muscovite, and sillimanite are present in particles barely 

large enough to identify.

Specimen 26207: From 12 or 15 feet below surface in cut of St. Louis, Iron 

Mountain & Southern Railway 1J miles east of Wynne, Ark. This specimen 

is compact and has a decided carbonaceous appearance, its color, being a rather 

dark brownish gray. It is much like No. 26206 except that it is riot quite so 

uniform in grain and it seems to lack biotite, fluorite, and albite.

Specimen 26208: From 15 or 20 feet below surface in cut of St. Louis, Iron 

Mountain & Southern Railway 1J miles east of Wynne, Ark. This specimen 

has a dirty yellowish color, is rather hard and coherent, and is made up of 

quartz, chert, muscovite, several feldspars, zircon, sillimanite, staurolite, and 

possibly other minerals.

Specimen 26209: From 30 or 40 feet below surface in cut of St. Louis, Iron 

Mountain & Southern Railway 1J miles east of Wynne, Ark. This specimen 

is a light brownish yellow in color and is of a texture which might be stated as 

that of typical loess. Quartz constitutes about 90 per cent of this specimen; 

chert is abundant, and other'minerals, particularly the feldspars, but also muscovite, biotite, epidote, zircon, and hornblende, are present in scattered particles.

Specimen 26210: From 51 to 56 feet below surface in cut of St. Louis, Iron 

Mountain & Southern Railway 1J miles east of Wynne, Ark. This specimen 

is of a reddish-brown color and unusually clayey; probably an old residual 

soil. It differs from most of the other samples in that a much larger portion 

is impossible of mineralogical determination, chert particles are unusually 

numerous, the feldspars are much weathered, and it seems to contain little, if 

any apatite, hornblende, or orthoclase.
104 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Specimen 26211: From about 60 feet below the surface in cut of St. Louis, 

Iron Mountain & Southern Railway 1J miles east of Wynne, Ark. This specimen is of a light buff color, with a decided pinkish tinge and mottled with 

yellow. The minerals are quartz, chert, several feldspars, biotite, muscovite, 

tourmaline, zircon, rutile, kyanite, and garnet.

Specimen 26212: From 30 or 35 feet below the surface at the west end of Elm 

Street, Helena, Ark. This specimen is of a dark gray, differing markedly in 

containing much calcite, as well as the more abundant minerals, quartz, and 

some flint, orthoclase, microcline, epidote, biotite, and zircon.

Specimen 26213. From about 80 feet below the surface at the west end of Elm 

Street, Helena, Ark. This specimen is of a dark gray, differing markedly in 

color from most loess, and resembling the old loess underlying the Illinoisan till 

in southern Illinois. It has a typical loess texture, being quite porous and 

absorbent. It is made up principally of quartz and chert, but contains much 

more or less altered orthoclase, microcline, and probably other feldspars, muscovite, sillimanite, hornblende, epidote, and zircon.

Specimen 26214: From 8 or 10 feet below surface one-half mile southwest 

of Grandglaise, Ark. This specimen is reddish-buff in color and is not a very 

typical sample of loess, being much less pervious and more like residual clay. 

The minerals observed are quartz and flint, in particles having a considerable 

range in size, muscovite, biotite, magnetite, zircon, tourmaline, epidote, sillimanite, and apatite.

Specimen 26215: From near bottom of gully 15 feet deep 3^ miles west of 

Paragould, Ark. This specimen is of a brownish-buff color and not very porous. 

Probably the loess here has crept a little. It contains in addition to quartz 

many rather large grains of biotite, chert, and hornblende, and smaller particles of magnetite, zircon, rutile, brookite, garnet, and sillimanite.

Specimen 26216: From 20 to 23 feet below surface in cut of Chicago, Rock 

Island & Pacific Railway one-quarter mile east of Forrest City, Ark. This 

specimen is of a dark grayish-brown color, and carbonaceous in appearance, 

but fine grained and homogeneous. The minerals observed are quart/, flint, 

muscovite, feldspar of several varieties, augite, magnetite, rutile, tourmaline, 

and kyanite.

A part of each specimen was sent to the United States Bureau of 

Soils, which very generously made the mechanical analyses given in 

the following table, according to its standardized method:

Mechanical analyses of 10 samples of loess and loesslike material from Crowleys Ridge, Ark., and of one sample from the Grandglaise terrace.

Medium sand (0.5 to 0.25 mm.) . . .

Fine sand (0.25 to 0.1 mm.). ......

Very fine sand (0.1 to 0.05 mm.) . . 

Silt (0.05 to 0.005 mm.) ...........

Clay (0.005 to 0 mm.). . ...........

26206

0.0

.0

.1

.2

3.8 

84.2

11.4

26207

0.0

.2

.1

.3

2.6 

82.3

14.3

2C.208

0.0

.4

.3

.6

7.0

78.2

12.9

26209

0.0

.0

.0

.1

9.5 

83.2

7.0

26210

0.0

.0

.6

.6

7.7 

59.3

31.8

26211

' 0.0

.0

.1

1.1

9.4 

82.3

6.9

26212

0.0

.0

.1

.2

7.8 

86.9

4.7

26213

0.0

.0

.1

.1

5.6 

85.5

8.6

026214

0.0

.2

.1

6.0

10.6 

70.3

12.5

26215

0.0

.2

.1

.5

4.4

78.2

16.4

2(1210

0.0

.2

.1

.2

4.8 

84.7

10.0

a- Sample from one-half mile southwest of Grandglaise, Jackson County, Ark.

The following analyses of samples of loess from Wisconsin, made 

for W. C. Alden by the Bureau of Soils in 1910, are inserted for 

purposes of comparison:
GEOLOGY. 105 

Mechanical analyses of samples of loess from Wisconsin.

Fine sand (0.25 to 0.1 mm.). . .............................................

Silt (0.05 to 0.005 mm.) ...................................................

Clay (0.005 to 0 mm.) .....................................................

23189

0.0

.0

.0

.7

19.6

64.8

14.7

23190

0.0

.0

.2

1.0

5.1

81.5

12.2

23191

0.1

.1

.1

1.7

18.2

63.1

16.4

23189. Loess, Bridgeport, Crawford County, Wis., near Mississippi River.

23190. Loess on late Wisconsin drift, Columbia County, Wis.

23191. Composite of loess loams; Driftless Area near Baraboo, Wis.

THICKNESS.

On Crowleys Ridge the loess varies from a thin veneer to a layer 

with a measured thickness of 139 feet. In general, the deposits are 

thinner north of Craighead County than south of that county; the 

maximum thickness of 139 feet is shown by the record of a well 

boring on the ridge near Helena, Phillips County (see log, p. 238), 

and a thickness of 130 feet was measured by the aneroid in the section 

at the Big Spring, 2| miles north of Helena (see p. 94).

PHYSIOGRAPHIC EXPRESSION.

Although the existence of Crowleys Ridge is due to the resistance 

to erosion offered by the Eocene strata which compose the core of the 

ridge, the detailed surface features are determined chiefly by the 

loess which almost completely covers its crest and slopes. Where 

erosion has advanced to a mature stage the topography produced by 

the loess is characterized by smoothly rounded slopes and broad, 

shallow valleys; where the conditions have favored the rapid cutting 

of small valleys and deep ravines the loess stands up about their 

sides in nearly vertical walls. These extremes and intermediate 

stages are represented in the topography of the ridge.

PALEONTOLOGIC CHARACTER.

The only fossils found in the loess of Arkansas are the shells of 

various species of land mollusks and one bivalve fresh-water mollusk; 

these have been observed only in the southern part of Crowleys Ridge 

in Phillips, Lee, and St. Francis counties, where at certain places 

numerous well-preserved specimens are scattered through the materials. Call 1 has published lists of species from several localities. 

Lists of species from three localities identified by Paul Bartsch and a 

list from one of these localities identified by William H. Dall are 

given on pages 107 and 108 of this report.

1 Call, R. E., The geology of Crowleys Ridge : Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. Kept, for 

1889, vol. 2, pp. 39, 49, 166-168, 1891.
106 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

LOCAL DETAILS.

The loess is exposed at hundreds of places in Crowleys Ridge. 

Along the western margin of the Mississippi embayment there are 

scattered remnantal deposits of reddish and yellowish loamy clays 

which rest upon either the Paleozoic rocks of the east-facing slopes 

of the hills of the Ozark province or form the capping materials of 

the Grandglaise terrace.

A few of the more complete exposures of loess in Arkansas will be 

described in following paragraphs.

Helena, Phillips County. At the southern extremity of Crowleys 

Ridge, west of Helena, the loess attains its greatest thickness in 

Arkansas 139.7 feet determined by a boring on the ridge west of 

the town. (See log, p. 238.) Good exposures occur in road cuttings, 

other artificial excavations, and ravines. The materials are gray 

to yellowish and brownish in color and contain numerous small 

irregular concretions of calcium carbonate, apparently distributed 

indiscriminately through the mass. For the most part the materials 

appear to be massive, but at one or two fresh cuttings faint banding has been observed. The well-preserved remains of land mollusks 

are numerous in places. The following is a section prominently 

exposed in an excavation near the west end of Elm Street, Helena:

Section in an excavation near the west end of Elm Street, Helena.

Pleistocene (loess) : " Feet.

Gray massive calcareous loess exhibiting faint banding; 

contains scattered remains of land shells throughout 

nearly the whole thickness, and at scattered intervals 

the shells are bunched together in large numbers. (See 

statement of petrographic character, sample No. 26212, 

and mechanical analysis of same sample in the table, 

p. 104) _____________T________________ 75

Very dark greenish gray (wet) compact, massive, tough, 

finely arenaceous loess, with an oxidized zone a few 

inches to 1 foot thick in the upper portion; resembles the 

loess in texture, but differs in color and plasticity from 

common loess. (See statement of petrographic character, sample No. 26213, and mechanical analysis of same 

sample in the table, p. 104)___ _ ___ 10

85

The following fossils collected from the upper 75 feet of loess at 

this locality and from materials corresponding to this layer at near-by 

localities (field No. 269) were identified by Dr. Paul Bartsch:
GEOLOGY. 107 

Fossils from loess at Helena, Ark.

Conulus fulvus Draparnaud. 

Zonitoides arboreus Say. 

Zonitoides minusculus Binney, 

Gastrodonta ligera Say. 

Gastrodonta sp. 

Vitrea sp. ? 

Vitrea indentata Say. 

Succinea luteola Gould. 

Circinaria concava Say.

Polygyra appressa Say. 

Polygyra zoleta Binney. 

Polygyra monodon Eackett. 

Polygyra elevata Say. 

Polygyra albolabris Say 

Polygyra multilineata Say. 

Polygyra stenotrema Ferussac. 

Pyramidula alternata Say. 

Pyramidula perspectiva Say. 

Helicodiscus parallelus Say.

A thickness of 130 feet of loess was measured by the aneroid in a 

section exposed in a gully near the Big Spring, 2^ miles north of 

Helena, a description of which is given on page 94 of this report. 

Another section one-quarter mile south of the Big Spring, which 

shows the unconformable relations of the loess to the underlying 

Lafayette formation, is described on page 95. ( See PL IX, Z?, p. 102. )

Ftirrest City, St. Francis County. On the north- facing side of a 

deep cut of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway one-quarter 

mile east of Forrest City, S,t. Francis County, the following section 

is exposed :

Section in cut of Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway one-quarter mile east

of Forrest City.

Pleistocene (loess) : Feet.

Gray massive calcareous loess with concretions of calcium 

carbonate ; grades downward into next layer below ___ 20

Dark-brown loess resembling an old soil, with concretions 

of calcium carbonate; grades downward into next layer 

below. (See statement of petrographic character, sample No. 26216, and mechanical analysis of same sample 

in the table on p. 104) ____________________ _ 3

Yellowish loess with concretions of calcium carbonate; 

grades downward into next layer below _________ _ 8

Gray massive loess with concretions of calcium carbonate. 11

Gray massive loess with faint horizontal lines of yellow 

iron oxide simulating bedding planes; contains calcium 

carbonate concretions and becomes sandy and ferruginous in the basal 4 or 5 feet ; contains numerous land 

shells and one fresh- water species (see list below) 14

When examined in 1905, 4 feet of pebbly cross-bedded sand 

streaked with yellow, probably belonging to the Lafayette formation, 

was observed beneath the loess in the center of the cut. In 1912 this 

had become concealed by talus.
108 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

The following fossils collected from the lowermost layer of the 

section just described were identified by Dr. Paul Bartsch:

Fossils from loess in cut of Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway one-quartef 

mile east of For rest City (Field No. 267).

Polygyra stenotrema Ferussac? 

Polygyra appressa Say. 

Polygyra monodon Rackett. 

Polygyra sp.? 

Polygyra sp. ? 

Circinaria concava Say. 

Circinaria concava Say (young). 

Sphserium sp.? (fresh-water bivalve). 

Helicodiscus parallelus Say. 

Strobilops labyrinthica texasiana Pilsbry.

Helicina orbiculata Say. 

Pomatiopsis lapidaria Say. 

Succinea avara Say. 

Lymnsea parva Lea. 

Vitrea indentata umbilicata Singley. 

Zonitoides minusculus Binney. 

Bifidaria contracta Say. 

Bifidaria corticaria Say. 

Bifidaria sp.?

In a collection made from the same locality in 1905 (U. S. Nat. 

Mus. catalogue No. 6405) William H. Dall has identified the following species:

Planorbis trivolvis Say. 

Pomatiopsis lapidaria Say. 

Polygyra hirsuta Say. 

Polygyra monodon Rackett. 

Succinea avara Say. 

Circinaria concava Say.

Helioeodiscus lineatus Say. 

Zonitoides arboreus Say. 

Bifidaria contracta Say. 

Strobilops labyrinthicus Say. 

Helicina occulta Say.

Seventy feet of loess is exposed in the section on Little Crow Creek 

described on page 76. (See PI. VII, A.) From a layer 50 to 65 feet 

below the surface in this section Dr. Bartsch identified the forms 

Polygyra sp.? and Sphterium sp.? (a fresh-water bivalve).

Sixty feet of loess appears in a bluff on St. Francis River, where 

the river strikes against the foot of the eastern slope of the ridge 

8 or 9 miles northeast of Forrest City. (See section, p. 76.)

Wynne, Cross County. The cut of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & 

Southern Railway through the crest of Crowleys Ridge 1| miles 

east of Wynne, Cross County, reveals the full thickness of the loess 

at that place. The cut is over 80 feet deep and has been widened 

several hundred feet by the removal of material used for ballast on 

the railroad embankments. In the north-facing side of the excavation, including a deeper trench extending in a linear direction 

through the cutting, the following section is exposed:
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPFR 399 PLATE X

A. "OLD SOIL" ZONE IN LOESS ON SOUTHWARD-FACING SIDE OF CUT OF ST. 

LOUIS, IRON MOUNTAIN & SOUTHERN RAILWAY 1}^ MILES EAST OF WYNNE, 

CROSS COUNTY.

. LOESS EXPOSED IN A CUT OF THE CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND & PACIFIC RAILWAY THROUGH 

CROWLEYS RIDGE A QUARTER OF A MILE EAST OF FORREST CITY, ST. FRANCIS COUNTY.

GEOLOGY. 109

Section in cut of St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway 1\ miles east

of Wynne,

Pleistocene (loess) : * Feet. 

7. Light-gray facies of loess_________________ 15 

6. Dark-brown facies of loess, resembling an old soil;

contains a few small brown chert pebbles______ 6 

5. Light-gray facies of loess__________________ 30 

4. Harsh red ferruginous facies of loess mottled in

places with gray______________________ 5 

3. Light-gray facies of loess tinted with pink_______ 12 

2. Light pinkish-gray, finely arenaceous clay grading 

downward into light greenish-gray argillaceous 

sand, containing numerous small concretions of impure limonite and a few small pebbles of chert and 

quartz; resembles loess in texture__________ 8-10 

Unconformity; contact is sharp and varies in vertical position

as much as 2 feet in a horizontal distance of 2 yards. 

Pliocene (?) (Lafayetteformation) :

1. Gravel composed chiefly of brown and gray subangular 

to partly rounded pebbles of flint and chert up 

to 6 inches in length, with a small percentage of 

smoothly rounded to partly rounded white or clear 

quartz pebbles up to 1 inch in length_________ 3

The different facies of loess described -in this section produce distinct bands in the deposits; the layers are not sharply defined but 

grade into each other. At one place on the south-facing side of the 

same cut the so-called old soil zone, corresponding to layer No. 6 of 

the section, is well exposed in a less complete section, as follows:

Section on south-facing side of a cut of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern

Railway 1\ miles east of Wynne.

Recent: Feet. 

4. Artificial fill of loess______________________ 6 

Pleistocene (loess) : 2

3. Light-gray facies of loess; grades downward into next

layer below_________________________ 12 

2. Dark-brown facies of loess, resembling an old soil zone;

grades downward into next layer below________, 3 

1. Light-gray facies of loess, similar to layer No. 3____ 5

~^Q

The dark band, layer No. 2, of the section is well shown in the 

photograph reproduced in Plate X, A.

Forty or 45 feet of loess is well exposed in a south-facing slope 

on a small creek 3 miles east of Wynne and one-eighth mile north

1 See statements of petrograpbic character and mechanical analyses as follows: Layer 

No. 3, sample No. 26211, text and table, p. 104; layer No. 4, sample No. 26210, p. 103, 

and table, p. 104; layer No. 5, sample No. 26209, p. 103, and table, p. 104.

2 See statements of petrographic character and mechanical analyses as follows: Layer 

No. 1, sample 26208, p. 103, and table, p. 104 ; layer No. 2, sample 26207, p. 103, and 

table, p. 104; layer No. 3, sample 26206, p. 103, and table, p. 104.
110 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway; this sectior 

is described in detail on page Tl of this report.

Eighteen feet of loess appears in the upper part of the sectior 

exposed in a gully about 4 miles east of Wynne and one-quarter mile 

south of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway, described 

on page TO.

In the section 2| miles north of the site of Old Wittsburg, described on page TO, the thickness of the loess is 49 feet; concretions? 

of calcium carbonate are abundant in the middle portion of thisr 

exposure.

Jonesboro, Craighead County. In the vicinity of Jonesboro, Craighead County, are numerous exposures of loess, which commonly 

appear in the form of a dark loam, lacking calcareous concretions and 

fossils; light-colored and reddish facies of the loess are also to beseem In places the argillaceous content increases and the materials 

become dark loamy clays. The thickness is as a rule 30 feet or less. 

One of the best exposures has been described by Call 1 as follows:

Three or four miles west of Jonesboro, on the line of the Kansas City, Fort 

Scott & Memphis Railway, are several cuts across low spurs of the ridge. These 

cuts disclose only the loess clays, but show them better than any other section 

in the county. They may be here divided into three layers on the usual color 

basis, as follows:

Feet.

1. Siliceous or sandy humus, with much clay__________ 2

2. Tough red clayey loess, much fissured, the faces of the 

fissures black with dendritic segregations of manganese. 

This member is removed for railway ballast and is so 

hard as to require blasting___________________ 7

3. Looser, yet tough, more yellow soil, weathering into vertical

faces _ ___________________________ 15

This cutting is duplicated at several places. This one shows the characteristic 

mode of occurrence and coloration of the loess.

Greene County. The loess in Crowleys Ridge in Greene County 

commonly appears either as reddish, argillaceous loam or as lightercolored facies of loam. Along the public road leading west from 

Paragould loess, for the most part poorly exposed, is the only material to be seen in the road ditches and cuttings. In a gully at the 

roadside, 3^ miles from town, a thickness of 15 feet of the loess was 

observed; a statement of the petrographic character of a sample of 

this material (sample 26215) and a mechanical analysis of the same 

sample are given on page 104. From 4 miles west of town westward across the ridge to the margin of the Advance lowland, a thin 

blanket of loess not exceeding 5 or 6 feet forms the surface material 

and rests upon gravels of the Lafayette formation, which appear at 

frequent intervals.

iCall, R. E., op. cit., p. 89.
GEOLOGY. " 111

At Gainesville red, mottled, and light-colored facies of the loess 

are exposed in the road ditches, and in places the materials contain 

numerous small, irregular concretions of calcium carbonate. In 

places in Greene County the loess has been entirely eroded away from 

the crest of the ridge, leaving the underlying gravels of the Lafayette 

formation as the capping materials.

In the Advance lowland, in the northwestern part of Greene 

County, is an isolated ridge known as Jones Ridge, which is composed mainly of materials believed to represent the loess. The ridge 

trends in a northeast-southwest direction between Cache River and 

the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway, is 3 or 4 miles 

long, one-quarter to one-half mile wide, and 30 or 40 feet high. The 

surface, though considerably dissected, presents smoothly rounded 

gentle slopes, offering no complete exposures of the materials. A 

few poor exposures on the slopes of the ridge reveal a dark, somewhat sandy clay loam, grading downward into reddish argillaceous 

sand. As these materials resemble closely facies of loess observed 

in Crowleys Ridge to the east in Greene County, they have been 

correlated with that formation.

Clay County. In Clay County the loess of Crowleys Ridge appears 

in the form of light-yellow, brown, and dark-red, noncalcareous, 

more or less sandy and argillaceous loams, in places grading downward into sands or clays. At no place where observations were 

made did the loess exceed 30 feet in thickness. At numerous places 

the loess has been entirely eroded away from the crest of the ridge, 

leaving the gravels of the Lafayette formation as the capping materials.

Western margin of the Mississippi embayment in Arkansas. 

Loesslike clays have been observed resting on Paleozoic limestone 

just west of the ferry over Current River at Tabor, Clay County. 

They form hills just west of the ferry over Black River at Powhatan, 

Lawrence County, where they probably rest on Paleozoic rocks. 

Yellow loams, probably representing the loess, cap the Grandglaise 

terrace between Strawberry, Lawrence County, and Newark, Independence County, but at many places the loess has been largely 

eroded away and is now represented only by a thin veneer of sandy 

]oam.

South of Grandglaise in Jackson County, the Grandglaise terrace 

is capped in places by 10 or 12 feet of reddish, massive, finely arenaceous, argillaceous loam resembling loess; this material strongly suggests certain facies of the loess of Crowleys Ridge. The best exposure of the loam examined in the Grandglaise terrace was in a 

south-facing bluff one-half mile south of Grandglaise, and just 

west of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway; a description of this section is given on page 52 of this report. A statement
112 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

of the petrographic character of a sample of loess taken from layer 

No. 5 of this section (sample 26214) and a mechanical analysis of the 

same sample are given on page 104.

COEEELATION.

The Pleistocene age of the American loess has long been a recognized fact among students of American geology. Chamberlain and 

Salisbury * discuss the age of the loess as follows:

The relations of the loess to the several drift sheets make it clear that it 

was accumulated at different stages of the glacial period, but within the glaciated area the accumulation at one of these stages exceeds that at all others, 

both in volume and areal extent. The loess deposited at this stage is often 

referred to as "the loess," and is usually correlated in time with the lowan 

drift It is at least later than the Illinois sheet of drift, which it mantles, and 

earlier than the Wisconsin drift, which overlies it. Locally a thin mantle of 

loess overlies the Wisconsin drift, even its later parts. No considerable body 

of loess older than the Illinois drift is known.

In his earlier studies of the loess Salisbury,2 in terms of the classification then in use, referred the loess of Crowleys Ridge to the 

first glacial epoch. On the evidence of the soil zone to which reference has previously been made, he subdivided the loess into two 

parts, the older and lower of which he correlated with the first episode of the first glacial epoch, and the upper and younger of which 

he referred to the second episode of the first glacial epoch. He regarded the part of the loess above the soil zone as corresponding to 

the main body of the loess. In terms of the present classification 

of the glacial drift the main body of loess is correlated in time with 

either the lowan drift or with the Peorian interglacial stage,3 which 

immediately succeeded the lowan invasion. In this connection it 

should be stated that in the southern part of Crowleys Eidge, where 

the so-called soil zone is most distinctly developed, the thickest body 

of loess is below and not above the soil zone. The soil zone, at most 

of the exposures examined, is only 10 or 20 feet below the top of the 

ridge, while in places the thickness of the loess below the zone is 55 

or 60 feet; at one locality a thickness of 40 feet of loess was observed 

above the soil zone.

If the loess above the soil zone corresponds to the main body of 

the loess in other parts of the Mississippi basin, that below the soil 

zone is of course older, though the interval between the deposition of 

the two parts would not necessarily be of relatively long duration.

1 A college textbook of geology, p. 888, 1909.

2 Salisbury, R. D., On the relationship of the Pleistocene to the pre-Pleistocene formations of Crowleys Ridge and adjacent areas south of the limit of glaciation: Arkansas 

Geol. Survey Ann. Rept., 1889, vol. 2, pp. 232-234, 1891.

3 Calvin, Samuel, The lowan drift: Jour. Geology, vol. 19, pp. 599-602, 1911.
GEOLOGY. 113

The question of the significance to be attached to the so-called soil 

zone is one to which sufficient attention has probably not been given. 

On the hypothesis that the upland loess was deposited chiefly through 

the agency of wind it does not seem improbable that such a zone 

might be formed within the main body of the loess, due to a temporary 

change in the prevailing direction of the wind, or to a temporary advantage gained by vegetation in the adjacent area of mud flats from 

which the materials were supplied to the wind. If this be true, the 

formation of a soil zone would not necessarily have direct connection 

with changes taking place in the main area of glaciation farther 

north.

According to Dr. Paul Bartsch, who determined the species listed 

on page 108, the contained fossils throw no light on the exact correlation of the loess. Shimek,1 discussing the same subject, says:

The fossil mollusks do not enable us to determine the age of any of the Pleistocene formations. The fossils of the Aftonian are not sufficiently distinct 

from those of modern alluvium to permit the drawing any conclusion other than 

that the conditions of deposition were much the same. They do not enable us to 

distinguish between the loesses, for the fossils of the gray and the yellow loesses 

are, in larger series, essentially the same. * * *

In no known Pleistocene deposit is there a vertical gradation of species which 

can be accounted for on climatic grounds. * * *

Southward along the Mississippi the loess molluscan fauna changes in essentially the same manner as the modern fauna of the surface. At Hickman, Ky., 

the larger helices (so prominent in the southeastern modern fauna) already 

appear in large numbers and Pyramidula solitaria, carinate Pyramidula alternata, Polygyra tridentata, very large P. albolabris, large P. profunda, a few P. 

elevata, P. fraterna, P. fraudulenta, P. appressa, Omphalina fuliginosa, large 

Circinaria concava, more abundant Pyramidula perspective/,, and Gastrodonta 

ligera. These species already form the most conspicuous feature of the loess 

fauna. Helicina occulta still appears, though here approaching its southern 

limit. Still farther south at Dyersburg, Tenn., a similar fauna appears in 

the loess, but Helicina occulta is not common, reaching here its southern limit, 

and Pyramidula striatella, so common in the north, also becomes rare. Still 

farther south on the west side of Mississippi River at Helena, Ark., the loess 

fauna becomes still more characteristically southern, and in addition to the 

larger helices already mentioned 'the large form of Siiccinia ovalis, Ompnalina 

kopnodes, Vitrea placentula, and Helicina orbiculata appear in conspicuous 

numbers. The last three species are distinctively southern. Helicina occulta 

has wholly disappeared and its place has been taken by Helicina orbiculata. The 

richly fossiliferous loess of Natchez and Vicksburg, Miss., also contains the 

forms common at Hickman and Helena, and the presence of Polygyra obstricta, 

P. inflecta, and P. stenotrema still further stamps the fauna as distinctively 

southern.

1 Shimek, Bohumil, The significance of Pleistocene mollusks : Science, new ser., vol, 37, 

pp. 506, 507, 508, 1913.

11674° WSP 399 16 8
114 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

ALLUVIUM. 

GENEBAL FEATURES.

Areal distribution and thickness. The Advance lowland between 

Crowleys Eidge on the east, the Ozark province on the northwest, 

and the Coastal Plain uplands southwest of Arkansas River is underlain by 100 to 200 feet of alluvial deposits, chiefly'referable to the 

Pleistocene epoch. A subordinate portion of the deposits are of 

Recent age. The Pleistocene alluvium comes to the surface in the 

interstream areas, or more exactly in the inter-floodplain areas of 

the lowland.

The Mississippi lowland throughout its extent in Arkansas and 

the adjoining States of Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi is also underlain to depths of 100 to 225 feet by alluvium which 

belongs to both the Pleistocene and Recent epochs. In this area the 

deposits of the two epochs have not been so accurately differentiated 

as have the alluvial deposits of the Advance lowland.

A belt of undulating land a few feet higher than the Mississippi 

lowland and nowhere more than 5 or 6 miles wide, which borders 

Crowleys Ridge on the east from Clay County southwestward to the 

southern part of Craighead County, is believed to be a remnant of a 

Pleistocene plain or terrace corresponding in age to the interstream 

plains of the Advance lowland.

Sikeston Ridge or Big Prairie, a narrow ridge about 20 feet high, 

which extends from south of Lake St. John, Scott County, Mo., to 

New Madrid, New Madrid County, Mo., is believed to be composed 

of Pleistocene deposits. A similar low ridge extends with several 

interruptions from the southern part of Stoddard County, Mo., a 

little west of south in a slightly sinuous course through Dunklin 

County, Mo., into the northern part of Mississippi County, Ark.; 

from north to south the different parts of this ridge are known respectively as Rosebriar Prairie, West Prairie, Grand Prairie, and Big 

Lake Highlands. This ridge is also believed to be composed of 

Pleistocene deposits.

The Pleistocene alluvium rests on undifferentiated deposits, chiefly 

of Eocene age but in part of Cretaceous age.

In the Advance lowland the Pleistocene alluvium comes to the 

surface in the inter-floodplain areas, but in the broad floodplains of 

the streams it is overlain by Recent alluvium, the thickness of which 

has not been determined at any point but which probably nowhere 

exceeds 75 feet.

Although in the Mississippi lowland the Pleistocene and Recent 

alluvial deposits have not been satisfactorily differentiated, it is
GEOLOGY. 115

believed that the former are concealed by the latter, except in the 

few slightly elevated areas previously described, concerning which 

there is reason, more or less well founded, for believing that the 

Pleistocene comes to the surface.

Lithologic character. The Pleistocene alluvium is composed of 

loams, clays, sands, and gravels, which though irregularly bedded in 

detail, have in general assumed definite stratigraphic positions. 

Where the complete sequence of the deposits exists, as in the interstream areas of the Advance lowland, there is a downward gradation 

from fine surface silts or loams through compact clays and fine sands 

to coarse sands and gravels at the base. This arrangement of the 

materials has been determined in scores of well borings. Except 

near the surface the deposits appear to be rather strongly calcareous, 

as shown by the almost universally hard waters which they yield. 

The deposits appear also to be rather strongly ferruginous, although 

the iron is distributed more irregularly than the lime. In the surface 

materials the iron appears in places in the form of small limonite concretions, and where these are numerous give rise to the so-called 

" buckshot" soils of the area.

The silty subsoil clays are compact and almost impervious to water 

and are locally termed " hardpan." They range in thickness from a 

few feet to a maximum measured thickness of 75 feet, and vary in color 

from a light ashen gray through yellow and brown to dark red. The 

subsoil clays and the underlying fine sands are exposed at a few 

places in river bluffs, gullies, and artificial cuttings. The stream incisions are nowhere deep enough to reveal the coarse sands and 

gravels which compose the basal portion of the deposits, and the 

character of these materials has been determined by well borings.

Dark carbonaceous clays, logs and limbs of trees, and peaty accumulations representing buried swamp deposits, are occasionally 

encountered in well borings. Shells have been reported from a few 

well borings. With these exceptions, the materials have yielded no 

fossil remains.

In the northern part of the Advance lowland in Arkansas and 

along the northwestern border of the lowland are areas characterized 

by successive low ridges of sand and sandy loam, apparently bearing 

some close relation to the alluvial lands bordering the rivers. However, many of the ridges rise above the extreme high water level of 

the present streams and in places the materials appear to rest on the 

light gray silty clays which constitute the subsoil throughout the 

greater part of the interflood plain areas of the Advance lowland, 

and may therefore have been deposited in late Pleistocene time, sub-
116 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATEBS, NOETHEASTEEN ABKANSAS.

sequent to the formation of the clays and prior to the deposition of 

the Recent flood-plain materials.

Physiographic expression. The gently undulating prairies and 

timbered lands of the interstream areas of the Advance lowland 

are the surface expression of the Pleistocene alluvial deposits. The 

prairies represent the least altered portions of the original Pleistocene plain; the timbered lands represent various stages in the process 

of erosion, which on account of the low gradient of the streams, is 

with extreme slowness reducing the plain to base-level.

LOCAL DETAILS.

As previously stated, the complete sequence of the Pleistocene 

alluvial deposits is not revealed by natural exposures. The upper 

portion of the alluvium appears at scattered localities in stream 

bluffs, gullies, road, and railroad cuttings. A few such sections are 

described on following pages.

Cloverbend, Lawrence County. A bluff on Black River at Cloverbend, Lawrence County, reveals the following section:

Section on Black River at Cloverbend, Lawrence County.

Pleistocene alluvium: Feet. 

White " buckshot" clay, very hard when dry, containing

small limonite concretions __________________ 3 

Reddish-tinted clay, very hard when dry, becoming sandy

at base ___________ ___ __ 3 

Reddish fine stratified sand______ ____ _ 3 

Gray stratified sand, coarser than the overlying layer___ 3 

Concealed to water level_______ " 7

19

Old Grandglaise, Jackson County. The site of Old Grandglaise 

is on White River, a few miles northeast of the present village of 

Grandglaise. The section exposed in the right bank of the river at 

this place is as follows:

Section on Wliite River at the site of Old Grandglaise, Jackson County.

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: ' Feet. 

White soil________________________ ___ 0. 5

White clay, very plastic when wet_ ___________- 4. 0

Stratified white, very argillaceous sand or sandy clay, 

containing great numbers of irregular concretions of 

calcium carbonate 10. 0

14.5
GEOLOGY. t 117

Colona, Woodruff County. In a cut of the Chicago, Eock Island & 

Pacific Kailway, south of Colona (2| miles south of Grays), Woodruff 

County, the following section is exposed:

Section in cut of Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway near Colona, Woodruff

County.

 Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: Feet. 

Soil _______________________________ 1.0 

Reddish to yellowish argillaceous loam, containing limonite concretions_______________________ 2. 5 

White sandy clay, grading downward into harsh reddish 

sand, which in turn grades downward into soft purplish 

sand________________________________ 10. 0

13.5

Augusta, Woodruff County. Call 1 has described a section on 

White River, at Augusta, Woodruff County, which is in substance as 

follows:

Section on White River at Augusta, Woodruff County.

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: Feet.

Fine light-colored siliceous humus_______________ 2

Brownish argillaceous sand, slightly indurated above, 

grading downward into softer, less argillaceous sand_ 1

Reddish sand with some clay, regularly stratified; contains irregularly disseminated nodules of argillaceous 

limonite one-fourth to one-half inch in diameter, which 

become softer and larger and more numerous toward 

base; forms an overhanging ledge in places_______ 8

White cross-bedded sand, with occasional patches of clay_ 10

Indurated fine, somewhat reddish sand, with some clay; 

contains nodules of sandy, argillaceous limonite near 

the base_____________________________ 2

Bluish-white, irregularly bedded sand, coarser and more 

argillaceous than the overlying layer; contains scattered, smoothly rounded pebbles of chert and a few 

pebbles of waterworn sandstone, averaging about 1 

inch in diameter; one mass of flint weighing about 

3 pounds noted__________________________ 4

Slightly indurated reddish sand, becoming brown below; 

the upper surface is irregular_______________ TL

White argillaceous sand____ ___________ 2

30

1 Call, R. E., The geology of Crowleys Ridge: Arkansas Geol. Survey Ann. Rept. for 

1889, vol. 2, pp. 22, 23, 1891.
118 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Phillips County. The surface in the northwestern half of Phillips 

County is strongly rolling, presenting a series of low ridges and intervening valleys, a condition believed to have been produced by the 

erosion effected by the streams where they descend from the Advance 

lowland to the Mississippi lowland, which lies 25 or 30 feet lower. 

Along the western side of Crowleys Ridge in this county is a terrace 

1 to 3 miles wide and 30 or 40 feet higher than the creek bottom immediately to the west; the terrace is separated from the ridge on the 

east and the lowland on the west by well-defined escarpments and 

probably corresponds in elevation to the low ridges in the northwestern part of the county just described. Occasional gullies and 

road cuttings reveal the character of the materials composing the low 

ridges and the terrace.

The following section is revealed in a gully cut in the terrace 1| 

miles east of Southland and a short distance west of the foot of the 

west-facing slope of Crowleys Ridge:

Section in gully 1\ miles east of Southland, Phillips County.

Pleistocene alluvium: Feet. 

Dark stratified argillaceous loam_______________ 4 

Layers of fine argillaceous sand, each a few inches in thickness, some containing small, earthy concretions of limonite___________________ ____________ 4 

Yellow argillaceous sand______ ___ ___ 2

10

Hickory Ridge, one of the series of ridges west of Crowleys Ridge 

(see p. 27), is capped with dark loam which, at Marvell, is 10 or 12 

feet thick, as shown by exposures in roadside gullies; the loam is 

underlain by fine gray sand.

A gully in the road leading from Trenton to Turner, about 5 miles 

south of west of Trenton, reveals a 9-foot section in a ridge similar to 

but smaller than Hickory Ridge.

Section in public road 5 miles south of west of Trenton, Phillips County.

Pleistocene alluvium: Feet. 

Soft dark loam___________________________ 6 

Very fine gray sand_______________________ 3

Logs of wells. The most complete data regarding the character 

and thickness of the Pleistocene alluvium has been afforded by the 

logs of wells located at various places in the area. The following 

table contains references to the pages of this report on which logs of 

wells which penetrate these deposits are given:
GEOLOGY. 119 

References to logs of wells which penetrate Pleistocene alluvium.

Location.

ARKANSAS COUNTY.

Almyra, 2 miles northwest of (SE. J sec. 21. 

T. 3S..R.4W.). 

Booty, 1 mile west of (W. J SE. J sec. 5, T. 8 

S.,R. 2W.).

Stuttgart, 6 miles southwest of (sec. 5, T. 3 S., 

R. 4W.). 

Tichnor, 4 miles south of (SW. 1 sec. 16, T. 7 

S., R. 2W.). 

Ulm (Prairie County), J mile south of, in Arkansas County (NE. Jsec. 6, T. 2 S., R. 4 W.).

CLAY COUNTY.

Knobel.. .....................................

Knobel, 5 miles east of (NW. J sec. 10, T. 19 

N.,R. 5E.). 

Piggott... ....................................

CRAIGHEAD COUNTY.

Bono, 1 mile north of (NE. J sec. 19, T. 15 N., 

R.3E.). 

Gilkeson, 2J miles southwest of (SE. J sec. 8, 

T. 13 N., R. 3E.). 

Gilkeson, 3 miles southeast of ( SE . \ sec. 9, T . 

13 N., R. 3E.).

Obear. Similes northwest of (NE. Jsec. 18, T. 

13 N., R. 3 E.).

CROSS COUNTY.

Hydrick (near) (NW. Jsec. 2, T. 9N., R. 3 E.). 

Tfiton,4milesnortheastof (SE. Jsec. 11.T.8 

N., R. IE.).

LA'WEENCE COUNTY.

Alicia........................................

Walnut Ridge, 1 mile northeast of (SE. J sec. 

25, T.17N.,R. 13 E.). 

Walnut Ridge, 1J miles southeast of (NE. J 

sec. 1,T. 16N.,R. IE.).

LEE COUNTY.

Marianna .

Moro, 2| miles northwest of (S W. J sec. 32, T. 

2N..R. IE.).

LONOKE COUNTY.

Carlisle, 1J miles east of (T. 2 N., R. 7 W.).... 

Carlisle, \\ miles north of (SW. J sec. 10, T. 2 

N.,R. 7W.). 

Carlisle, 3 miles southwest of (sec. 32, T. 2 N., 

R. 7W.). 

Carlisle, 4J miles southwest of ( W. i N W. 1, T. 

1N.,R. 7W.).

Lonoke, 4 miles southeast of (S W. i sec. 33. T . 

IN., R. 8W.).

MONEOE COUNTY.

Brinkley (near) (sec. 4. T. 3 N., R. 2 W. )..... 

Brinkley, 14 miles northwest of (T. 3 N., R. 2 

W.).

Owner.

H.V.Clutter.. .............

Stuttgart Water & Electric 

Light Co.

J. M. Satchfleld. ............

Caspar G. Scheiderer, R. D. 3.

St. Louis, Iron Mountain & 

Southern Ry. Co.

Caraway & Friedenburg. ....

J. E. Bobbitt. ..............

Burke & Cole, Jonesboro.. 

C. O. Collins, Jonesboro. . . . .

St. Louis, Iron Mountain & 

Southern Ry. Co'. 

Gregg & Houghton Land 

Co.

St. Louis & Southwestern 

Ry. Co.

St. Louis, Iron Mountain & 

Southern Ry. Co.

Robinson & Cornett. ........

Marianna Light & Power Co. 

S. D. Johnston, Marianna.

W. H. Fuller, Lonoke .......

W. Y. Bransford... .........

Farrell Light, Heat & Water 

Co. 

J. D. Edmonds....... ....... 

H. G. Adams..............

Depth 

(feet).

150 

163

131.75 

145 

147 

110

50

178

74 

98.5

78 

103 

113 

147 

102

82

65 

75 

80

77 

177 

81.5

125 

195

180

158

131 

140

105 

300

565

149.75 

147.5

Depth (in 

feet) to 

Eocene 

(or Cretaceous).

200

148

Page on 

which log 

of well is 

given.

153 

153 

151 

152 

153 

152

162 

163

163 

163

in

171 

171 

170 

171

183

183 

183 

183

204 

205 

205

210 

211

218

218

219

218

216 

219

231

231 

231
120 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

References to logs of wells which penetrate Pleistocene alluvium Continued.

Location.

PHILLIPS COUNTY.

POFNSETT COUNTY.

Waldenburg, 2 miles east of north of (NW. \ 

sec. 18, T. 11 N., R. 2 E.)j 

Waldenburg. 2i miles southwest of (SE. J 

sec. 35, T. UN., R.I E.).

Weiner, 1 mile north of (SE. J sec. 21, T. 12 

N., R. 2E.). 

Weiner, 14 miles south of (NW. 1 sec. 17, T. 

11N.,R. 2E.). 

Weiner, 3 miles northeast of (SE. 1 sec. 21, T. 

12 N., R. 2E.). 

Whitehall, 1J miles west of (sec. 22, T. 10 N., 

R. 3E.).

PBADBIE COUNTY.

Devall Bluff, 3J miles west of (T. 2 N., R. 

5W.). 

Hazen, 2 miles southeast of (T. 2N., R. 5 W.).

ST. FRANCIS COUNTY.

Wheetley (near) (average log of 9 wells in 

Tps. 3 and 4 N., R. 1 W.). 

Wheetley (near) (sec. 26, T. 4 N., R. 1 W.). . . 

Zent (Monroe County), northeast of, in St. 

Francis County (SW. J sec. 5, T. 4 N., R.

Zent (Monroe County), northeast of, in St. 

Francis County (SW. i sec. 6, T. 4 N., R. 

1 W.). 

Zent (Monroe County), northeast of, in St. 

Francis County (SE. J sec. 6, T. 4 N., R.

Zent (Monroe County), northeast of, in St. 

Francis County (SE. J sec. 6, T. 4 N., R. 

1 W.). 

Zent (Monroe County), east of, in St. Francis 

County (S W. \ sec. 8, T. 4 N., R. 1 W.). 

Zent (Monroe County), 1J miles northeast of, 

in St. Francis County (W. J sec. 6, T. 4 N.,

Zent (Monroe County), east of, in St. Francis 

County (S. J sec. 3, T. 4 N., R. 1 W.).

"WOODRUFF COUNTY.

Hunter, southeast of (sec. 34, T. 5 N., R. 

1W.)! 

Hunter, southeast of (sec. 34, T. 5 N., R. 

1W.)! 

Hunter, If miles southwest of (sec. 21, T. 5 

N., R. 1 W.).

Owner.

Scruggs & Swearengin, 

Mooreville, Ind.

St. Louis Southwestern Ry. 

S.F. Wells. ................

J.W. Petty...... ...........

C.E.Patt. .................

.....do......................

.....do......................

.....do......................

Norton Bros., Brinkley .....

Hunter Land & Rice Co. 

(well No. 1). 

Hunter Land & Rice Co.

(well No. 2).

Depth 

(feet).

135

108.5 

101

101.5 

153.5

156 

75 

120

78 

72 

179

176

145

186 

175

155.6

147 

462

180.8 

125

151

127 

156 

108

Depth (in 

feet) to 

Eocene 

(or Cretaceous).

176?

185?

153? 

146 

145 

180?

149?

155?

Page on 

which log 

of well is 

given.

239

246

246

. 246 

246

247 

247 

247

252 

252 

253

253

265

266 

266

266 

266 

267

267 

267

267

277 

277 

277

CORRELATION.

The Pleistocene alluvium of eastern and northeastern Arkansas is 

younger than the loess of Crowleys Kidge and is older than the Kecent 

alluvium. If the main body of the loess was deposited during the 

time of the lowan ice invasion (see quotation from Chamberlin and 

Salisbury on p. 112), then the Pleistocene alluvium was deposited 

subsequent to that invasion; if the loess was deposited during the
GEOLOGY. 121

Peorian interglacial stage, which succeeded the lowan invasion, the 

Pleistocene alluvium dates from a still later time. Probably most 

of Pleistocene time subsequent to the Peorian interglacial stage is 

represented by the Pleistocene alluvial deposits of this area.

RECENT SERIES.

The Recent deposits of eastern and northeastern Arkansas consist mainly of alluvial silts, loams, clays, sands, and gravels; these 

materials immediately underlie the surface in the flood plains of the 

streams and rest upon similar deposits of Pleistocene age, except 

locally along the borders of the uplands where the Recent deposits 

rest upon Eocene or Cretaceous strata or at a few places upon 

Paleozoic rocks.

In the Advance lowland the areal distribution and the thickness 

of the Recent deposits are less than in the Mississippi lowland. The 

thickness is determined by the depth to which the streams have 

scoured as they have meandered back and forth across their flood 

plains. The maximum depth of scour of Arkansas River, the largest 

stream of the Advance lowland, is probably not greater than 75 feet 

below the general level of the flood plain. The depth of scour of the 

other smaller streams of the area is proportionately less, the minimum 

being that of small creeks which cut only a few feet below their 

flood plains.

In the Mississippi lowland the Recent and Pleistocene alluvial deposits have not been clearly differentiated. If Mississippi River has 

in Recent time meandered entirely across the lowland between Crowleys Ridge and the Chickasaw Bluffs, then the surface deposits are 

all of Recent age. But even if this stream has not covered the entire 

lowland much of the area not thus occupied has been covered by St. 

Francis and Little rivers in their meanderings.

Certain small areas in the Mississippi lowland which lie slightly 

higher than the general level of the lowland are considered probable 

remnants of Pleistocene deposits. One of these is Sikeston Ridge 

or Big Prairie, a narrow, low ridge which extends southward from 

south of Lake St. John in Scott County, Mo., to New Madrid, New 

Madrid County, Mo.; another, a low ridge which extends with 

several interruptions from the southern part of Stoddard County, 

Mo., a little west of south in a slightly sinuous course through 

Dunklin County, Mo., into Mississippi County, Ark., is known in its 

various parts, named in order from north to south, as Rosebriar 

Prairie, West Prairie, Grand Prairie, and Big Lake Highlands. The 

meaning of these elevations is rendered obscure because of the fact 

that changes in level accompanying earthquake shocks have taken 

place in the area.
122 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Mississippi River is at present scouring its channel 100 to 130 feet 

below the general level of the Mississippi lowland, and the Kecent 

alluvial deposits are therefore at least 100 to 130 feet thick over a 

part of the area. The materials intervening between the lower limit 

of scour of the present streams of the lowland and the underlying 

Eocene deposits are of Pleistocene age.

UNDIFFERENTIATED QUATERNARY ALLUVIUM.

Owing to the difficulty in differentiating the Pleistocene and 

Recent alluvium in the Mississippi lowland and in certain parts of 

the Advance lowland, it has been necessary in the interpretation of 

the logs of numerous wells to class the alluvial deposits as undifferentiated Quaternary alluvium. A list of such wells with references 

to the pages on which the logs are published is given in the following 

table:

References to logs of wells which penetrate undifferentiated Quaternary

alluvium.

Location.

CEITTENDEN COUNTY.

Turrell.......... ............................

CROSS COUNTY.

Parkin. ......................................

Cherry Valley, 5 miles east of ................

GREENE COUNTY.

Beech Grove, 3J miles north of (SE. £ NE. J

sec. 11, T. 18 N., R. 4 E.).

JACKSON COUNTY.

Newport, 1 mile southwest of (oil-prospecting

well).

JEFFERSON COUNTY.

Wabbaseka, 5 miles east of (NW. J sec. 17,

T. 48., R.7W.).

MISSISSIPPI COUNTY.

Asnport Bend, 9 or 10 miles above Osceola . . .

Do........................... . . . ...

Do................... ... . .

Do........................................

Blytheville, 2 miles west of ....... ...

Burdette ....................................

PHILLIPS COUNTY.

Helena, 3 miles southeast of ..................

Helena................................ . . .

Owner.

Baker Lumber Co ..........

Northern Ohio Cooperage &

Lumber Co.

Mr. Smith..................

Joe Canfee, Lafe ............

John Ingram, sr ............

United States Government

well No. 1.

United States Government

well No. 2.

United States Government

well No. 3.

United States Government

well No. 4.

Chicago Mill & Lumber Co. .

Three States Lumber Co ....

American Cooperage Co .....

Mississippi River Commission boring.

Depth 

(feet).

864

oy KQ7/

230

30

1 ' 000

66

164

110

166

168

520

1,495.5

575

206.4

Depth

(in feet) 

to Eocene 

or other

older

rocks.

182

165

105

136.5

146

140

140?

123?

160

162.3

Page on 

which log 

of well

is given.

175

i QO lOJS

183

1 SQ loir

199

227

&£l 997 

£t&i 997

997 £t£ti

225

226

9O7 AOf

237
GEOLOGY. 123

References to logs of wells which penetrate undifferentiated Quaternary alluvium 

Continued.

Location.

POINSETT COUNTY.

Harrisburg ..................................

Harrisburg, 11 miles northeast of .............

Marked Tree.................................

PULASKI COUNTY.

Argenta (well No. 1 in group of 8 wells) ......

Argenta (well No. 4 in group of 8 wells) ......

Jacksonville .................................

Jacksonville, J mile south of .................

' WHITE COUNTY.

Bald Knob..................................

Higginson ............

WOODBUFF COUNTY.

Owner.

C.Ripley. ......... .........

Co.

Southern Ry. Co.

.....do......................

A. J.McBride... ...........

Southern Ry. Co.

Depth 

(feet).

185

42

398

80

80

80

82

24

991;

62.5

900

Depth

(in feet) 

to Eocene 

or other

older

rocks.

40

220

70

31?

145

Page on 

which log 

of well

is given.

245

245

245

259

259

259

259

259

272

272

276

GEOLOGIC HISTORY.

Deposition of Paleozoic sediments. For the purpose of this report 

the history of the events leading up to the present geologic conditions of the Mississippi embayment may be assumed to have begun 

with the deposition of the Paleozoic rocks which outcrop around the 

rim of the embayment and which form the basement on which the 

deposits of the Coastal Plain rest.

The deposition of the Paleozoic rocks began in an intercontinental 

sea in Cambrian time and continued with certain interruptions, a 

detailed account of which is outside the province of this report, at 

least until late Carboniferous time.

Post-Paleozoic erosion interval. The long period of Paleozoic 

deposition was brought to a close by a general elevation of the region, 

land appearing where inland seas had previously existed. Then 

began a long cycle of erosion, indicated by the total absence of deposits of Triassic and Jurassic age, and, so far as known, of Lower 

Cretaceous age.

Depression in Lower Cretaceous time. During Lower Cretaceous 

time areas both east and west of the present Mississippi embayment, 

and probably the embayment itself to some extent, were depressed, 

as indicated by the presence of deposits of Lower Cretaceous age in 

eastern Alabama and in southwestern Arkansas. Although no strata 

of this age outcrop in the Mississippi embayment, such deposits possibly exist deeply buried 'beneath younger formations in the southcentral portion of the area.
124 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Depression and deposition in Upper Cretaceous time. During 

Upper Cretaceous time an area coinciding approximately with the 

present Mississippi embayment was depressed, probably by downward 

warping, accompanied by more or less faulting, and was covered by 

marine waters, which advanced across the area from an. open sea on 

the south. This depression is indicated by the strata of Upper Cretaceous age penetrated in a deep well boring at Memphis, Tenn., and 

by strata which outcrop along the eastern limb of the embayment as 

far north as the southern part of Illinois, and which are present at 

certain places along the western limb of the embayment. The Upper 

Cretaceous deposits consist of sands, clays, and marls formed as 

the result of the transportation of materials into the sea by streams 

flowing from the areas of land surrounding the submerged tract on 

the west, north, and east. In the central part of the embayment the 

deposits are more than 1,300 feet in aggregate thickness, and are 

believed to constitute a conformable series.

Uplift and erosion between the Cretaceous and Eocene. After the 

deposition of the Upper Cretaceous series the submerged area was elevated above sea level and subjected to erosion. How great a thickness 

of strata was removed while land prevailed is not known, but from 

the approximate correspondence in the stratigraphic position of the 

eroded Upper Cretaceous surface throughout a vast extent of country 

in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain the land was probably reduced 

nearly to a peneplain. The great importance of this erosion interval 

is shown by the difference in the paleontologic characters of the upper 

part of the Upper Cretaceous series and the lower part of the overlying Eocene series, few, if any, of the contained molluscan species 

being common to the two series. The contact between the two series 

does not appear at the surface within the area under consideration, 

but is well exposed at many places in Alabama and Mississippi, and 

its presence in the vicinity of Little Eock, Ark., is indicated by the 

paleontologic differences already stated.

Depression and deposition in Eocene time. The erosion interval 

succeeding the deposition of the Upper Cretaceous series was 

brought to a close by a depression of the area which submerged a 

tract probably corresponding in extent nearly to the present Mississippi embayment, though perhaps somewhat more contracted at 

the northern extremity and along the eastern side in Mississippi, 

Tennessee, and Kentucky. The depression was accompanied by renewed deposition which, with two important interruptions, and perhaps other minor interruptions, continued through Eocene time and 

produced in ascending order the Midway, Wilcox, Claiborne, and 

Jackson formations, the aggregate thickness of which amounts to 

between 1,000 and 1,500 feet.
GEOLOGY. 125

The Midway formation, where typically developed, consists of 

limestones, calcareous sands, and clays, of marine origin, which 

show that true marine conditions existed in the southern and central 

parts of the submerged area at least as far north as the latitude of 

Newport, Jackson County, Ark. These marine materials merge 

northward into argillaceous beds of shallow-water origin^ which in 

Tennessee and Kentucky are known as the Porters Creek clay.

The contact between the Midway and Wilcox formations is not 

exposed in northeastern Arkansas, but Berry * has published paleontologic evidence of an unconformity between the two formations in 

the Mississippi embayment, indicating an important uplift accompanied by erosion.

The Wilcox formation, where exposed in Crowleys Ridge from 

Craighead northward and also in Mississippi, and deposits of Wilcox age in the Lagrange formation of Tennessee and Kentucky consist of irregularly bedded sands and clays; lignite is common in 

the formation and in places is segregated into beds; fossil leaves 

have been collected at numerous places in Mississippi, Tennessee, and 

Kentucky and at three places in Arkansas. Locally in Crowleys 

Ridge the sands are indurated to sandstones and quartzites. These 

characters may perhaps be interpreted to mean that the terrane is a 

complex of shallow-marine, swamp, and alluvial deposits.

Deposition of the Wilcox formation was followed by uplift which 

produced a land surface and erosion probably throughout the whole 

of the embayment. This sequence of events is indicated by the absence of deposits representing the lower part of the Claiborne as 

developed in Alabama, Louisiana, and east Texas. In upper Claiborne time, however, the area was again depressed and deposition 

was resumed. The depression probably affected the southern part 

of the Mississippi embayment more than the northern part, for 

deposits of the Claiborne formation are not known to extend farther 

north than Poinsett County, Ark. The northern part of the embayment may have been above water and subjected to erosion. The 

Claiborne formation in Crowleys Ridge is similar in general lithologic character to the Wilcox formation, but shows a slightly nearer 

approach to a true marine deposit, as indicated by more massive bedding, particularly in the upper part of the terrane. During Claiborne time subsidence was gaining slightly on sedimentation, and 

this advantage continued into Jackson time, though, as Berry has 

shown in the paper just cited,1 there is evidence of temporary emergence and erosion at the close of the Claiborne.

The Jackson formation consists of sands, clays, and marls of 

shallow-sea origin. The prevalence of marine conditions during

1 Berry, E. W., Erosion intervals in the Eocene of the Mississippi embayment: IT. S. 

Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 95, pp. 73-82, 1915 (Prof. Paper 95-F).
126 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

the time of deposition of these materials is indicated by the presence 

in the formation of the remains of mollusks and foraminifera which 

inhabited shallow seas. During this period also the northern part 

of the embayment was probably above sea level, for the Jackson 

formation has been recognized only as far north as the latitude of 

St. Francis County, Ark.

Post-Eocene erosion. Succeeding the deposition of the Eocene 

series, the Mississippi embayment was again elevated above sea level 

and the upward movement was probably accompanied by a slight 

tilting toward the south. Erosion was resumed and probably continued until near the close of Tertiary time; that is, during all of 

Oligocene, Miocene, and a part of Pliocene time; the streams which 

drained the emerged area attacked the exposed portions of the 

Eocene strata and began transporting the materials to the sea, which 

had retreated southward beyond the limits of the embayment area.

The arrangement of the drainage during this erosion interval is 

not known, but doubtless a large stream corresponding to the present 

Mississippi River crossed the area, and this stream was probably 

joined by an ancient Ohio River somewhere in the Mississippi embayment. Streams corresponding to White and Arkansas rivers 

doubtless existed.

The erosive action of the streams during this period probably resulted in the removal of a relatively large amount of material from 

the land, which was not reduced to base level, as shown by the irregularities of the surface upon which the next succeeding formation, the 

Lafayette, was laid down.

Deposition of the Lafayette formation. The period of land degredation which followed the deposition of the Eocene series was succeeded, probably during late Pliocene time, by a relatively short 

period of deposition, during which the Lafayette formation, a terrane composed of irregularly bedded sands and gravels, was laid 

down. The conditions under which this formation was produced were 

peculiar and are not thoroughly understood. The available facts, 

however, appear to justify certain deductions.

The materials were transported from an elevated area in which 

erosion was active and the transporting power of the streams great. 

The embayment area must have been considerably lower than this 

elevated tract, and the gradients of the streams were greatly reduced 

where they passed from the higher to the lower country; the transporting power of the currents was lessened as a result of the lowering of the gradients, and much of the material carried in suspension 

or rolled along the stream beds was left stranded along the valley 

bottoms and lower slopes. Since the gravel deposits are composed 

chiefly of pebbles and cobbles of chert which range from subangular 

to only partly waterworn, it is evident that they have been transported
GEOLOGY. 127

no great distance, and their source was doubtless the Paleozoic rocks, 

which are composed in part of cherty limestones and outcrop adjacent to the Mississippi embayment on the west, north, and east. 

A very small proportion of the gravels consists of small, smoothly 

rounded quartz pebbles which appear to have been transported a 

long distance; their history is more complex and is less understood 

than is that of the chert pebbles and co"bbles. The gravels and sands 

doubtless originally covered much if not all the embayment area.

The chief difficulty in attempting to explain the origin of the 

deposits of sand and gravel is the fact that the base of the gravel 

deposits lies at various vertical positions from below the level of the 

Mississippi lowland to 80 or 100 feet above that datum plane. If 

the materials were deposited by streams meandering across depositional plains, it would seem that the surface upon which the heavy 

gravels were laid down would have been reduced to an approximate 

plain by the lateral cutting of the shifting currents. However, it is 

probable that the sequence of events was more complicated than can 

easily be determined from the remnants of the formation available 

for study. A series of successively younger and lowe-.r terraces might 

account for the observed distribution of the gravels; or the gradual 

aggradation of valleys permitting the streams to meander over successively higher parts of the adjacent hills might also account for 

the present position of the gravels.

Post-Lafayette erosion interval. After the deposition of the Lafayette formation erosion was resumed, either because the streams 

ceased to carry great loads of coarse material or because there was a 

general uplift of the area; the resulting dissection produced a surface 

relief amounting to 100 feet or more.

The arrangement of the drainage during this period of erosion is 

not known, but doubtless streams existed corresponding to Mississippi, 

Ohio, White, and Arkansas rivers.

Deposition of the loess. The erosion interval which succeeded the 

deposition of the Lafayette formation continued wel] into Pleistocene 

time, probably until the second (Kansan) or third (Illinoisan) ice 

invasion of the Pleistocene epoch, at which time continued erosion 

was prevented, at least over parts of the area, by deposition of the 

loess (some of which may be older than the lowan) upon the sands 

and gravels of the Lafayette formation.

The loess as it exists to-day is believed to be only a fractional 

part of that originally deposited, much of it having been since eroded 

away. The material is now found capping Crowleys Ridge, except 

in a few places in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri, where 

it has been eroded from the crest of the ridge; east of the Mississippi 

lowland the loess occurs in a belt 5 to 25 miles or more in width, 

paralleling the Chickasaw Bluffs and extending from southern
128 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Illinois southward through Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi to 

Louisiana; along the western margin of the Mississippi embayment 

in Arkansas fragmentary remnants of yellowish, reddish, and brownish loam, which probably represent the loess, are found capping the 

Grandglaise terrace in places and resting upon the east-facing slopes 

of the hills of the Ozark province. How much of the intervening 

areas now occupied by the Advance lowland and the Mississippi lowland were originally covered by loess is not known, but doubtless the 

areal extent of the deposit was much greater than at present.

Several explanations have been given to account for the formation of the loess. These have been summed up by Chamberlin and 

Salisbury 1 as follows:

By the aqueous hypothesis the loess is assigned to direct deposition by rivers, 

or their lakelike expansions. To make this possible it is necessary to suppose 

that the waters stood at elevations 200 to 600 feet higher than now relative to 

adjacent surfaces, in the Mississippi Basin. This involves difficulties that have 

never been satisfactorily met. Furthermore, if the waters of rivers or their 

lake-like expansions were high enough to cover the areas overspread by loess, 

it is not clear that there could have been an appropriate habitat for the land 

fauna of the time.

Under the eolian hypothesis, or at least one phase of it, the river flats are 

supposed to have supplied the material of the loess, which was whipped up by 

the winds and redeposited on the adjacent uplands. The rivers are thus made 

essential factors in the distribution, though not the direct agents of deposition. 

This hypothesis seems on the whole to best fit the phenomena of the larger part 

of the upland loess of the Mississippi Basin. The constituents of the loess, 

which appear to have come from the glacial drift, were derived largely from 

the deposits made by glacial waters or from later flood plain silts derived from 

the glacial formations, but it is probable that some of the loess was derived from 

glacial drift directly before it became clothed with vegetation.

In places in Crowleys Kidge the basal portion of the loess shows 

some evidence of stratification and generally the stratified materials 

are sandy or argillaceous. The bulk of the loess, however, is massive, 

though banding is discernible in the more complete exposures. The 

remains of land shells are numerous in the loess from St. Francis 

County to the southern extremity of the ridge. One fresh-water 

form, Sphserium sp. ?, has been found associated with land shells 

at two localities east of Forrest City, in St. Francis County. (See 

p. 108.) Although locally the basal portion of the loess may have 

been deposited in ponds or small lakes, the objections to the aqueous 

hypothesis to account for the origin of the deposits heretofore advanced, seem in the main to be applicable here. Of the explanations 

that have been offered, the modified eolian hypothesis described in the 

last paragraph of the quotation just given seems to be most in accord 

with the known facts. According to this theory fine silts derived

1 Chamberlin, T. C., and Salisbury, K. D., A college textbook of geology, pp. 889-890, 

1909.
GEOLOGY. 129

from the glacial drift were transported southward by the streams and 

at flood stages were deposited on the flood plains; these materials, 

when subsequently dried, were lifted by the winds and spread upon 

the adjacent slopes and uplands. As the materials accumulated the 

shells of land mollusks were entombed and in places preserved; occasional slight changes in the prevailing character of the materials 

transported by the streams or in the character or condition of the 

vegetable growth resulte( I in the banding observed in the deposits. . 

The deposits were spread over a considerable part of the area now 

occupied by the Advance and Mississippi lowlands and have been

subsequently largely rem

by the streams of late Pleistocene and Recent time. The effective

deposition of the loess probably ceased before or during the Peorian

interglacial stage.

Erosion of the great troughs west and east of Crowleys Ridge and

deposition of Pleistocene

age in the Mississippi embayment during the time of deposition of 

the loess has not been cefinitely determined, but the close of that

time found Mississippi 

courses southward throu 

west of and the latter ea; 

of the present southern e: 

loess was deposited by w 

the possibility of the Mis

and Ohio rivers following independent 

gh the Mississippi embayment, the former 

;t of Crowleys Eidge; the two joined south 

[tremity of the ridge. If it be true that the 

nd action, this fact would seem to preclude 

sissippi having found its way west of Crowleys Ridge during the time of that deposition, because of the topographic obstacles that must have intervened. This arrangement of

the drainage is believed

The brief account wh

tion of Marbut with the

necessary.

Shortly subsequent to

its present position with 

accelerated and the river

ved by the extensive lateral cutting effected

alluvium. The distribution of the draintherefore, to date back into the Tertiary

period. Mississippi River, as it existed in southeastern Missouri immediately after the deposition of the loess, appears to have been a 

superimposed stream, which also tends to confirm this view.

The succession of geologic events which transpired in the northern 

part of the Mississippi embayment from the close of loess deposition 

to the present time has been determined and described by Marbut.1

ich follows is in substance the interpretaapplication of his interpretation extended

to cover the whole of the embayment, and with such modifications 

and additions as the conditions existing south of Missouri make

the close of the deposition of the loess the

embayment area was elevated, probably not less than 100 feet above

reference to sea level. Stream erosion was 

i quickly entrenched themselves, their lower

1 Marbut, C. F., The evolution 

souri: Missouri Univ. Studies, i

11674° WSP 399 16 9

the northern part of the lowlands of southeastern Mis- 

)1. 1, No. 3, 63 pp., 7 pis., 1902.
130 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

limit of scour reaching a level corresponding to the base of the present alluvium of the lowlands. At that time Mississippi River did 

not follow its present course, but flowed southwestward from Cape 

Girardeau, Cape Girardeau County, Mo., northwest of the present 

site of Benton Ridge, and northwest and west of Crowleys Ridge. 

Ohio Eiver flowed southwestward east of Crowleys Kidge and joined 

the Mississippi south of the present southern extremity of the ridge.

From Cape Girardeau to Mingo, Stoddard County, Mo., the Mississippi soon found both its downward and lateral cutting hindered 

by hard Paleozoic rocks, which formed its bed and sides. From 

Mingo southward through Arkansas the river was entrenched in 

unconsolidated deposits of the Coastal Plain and quickly reached 

grade; thereafter the stream meandered, its energies were expended 

in lateral cutting, and a great, broad trough was^ geologically speaking, quickly scoured out. The bottom of this trough was 125 to 200 

feet below the present level of the Advance lowland, and the geographic extent coincided with this lowland. The materials removed 

belonged in descending order to the loess, the Lafayette formation, 

and to the Eocene and Cretaceous.

Contemporaneous with the lateral cutting the river was redepositing 

sands, clays, and gravels on the plain across which it meandered, so 

that as the trough was widened it was refilled with alluvial deposits 

nearly or quite to the level marked by the present Advance lowland. 

There is some evidence that before the river was finally diverted from 

its course west of Crowleys Kidge a slight increase in the thickness 

of the alluvial deposits was caused by a depression of the area 

amounting to several feet; the same result might have been accomplished, however, by an increase in the amount of materials carried 

in suspension by the currents. In the work of cutting and refilling 

this trough the Mississippi was aided to some extent by Arkansas 

and White rivers, which entered the valley from the Ozark province.

The ever-broadening flood plains of the Mississippi and its assistants, White and Arkansas rivers, were periodically overflowed by 

flood waters which spread back across the broad flat tracts from the 

main channels and deposited their burdens of fine silt, producing the 

layer of compact, silty clay which nearly everywhere forms the 

uppermost part of the Pleistocene alluvial deposits. At many places 

on the level interstream tracts the conditions were favorable for the 

precipitation of iron oxide as limonite, which took the form of small, 

impure concretions, or a sort of bog iron ore; these concretions characterize the so-called buckshot soils of the area.

Contemporaneous with the dissection and partial refilling of the 

great valley west of Crowleys Kidge, Ohio Kiver was accomplishing 

analogous results east of the ridge. After leaving the Paleozoic rocks 

above Cairo, 111., the Ohio encountered only unconsolidated mate-
present 

great 

inc ex

tt.e

been

rials and quickly scoured 

coextensive with the 

stood between these two 

a remnant of and an 

previous to the cutting of 

by the Ohio was similar t< 

in the northern part of 

few feet lower than that 

this old Ohio River flood

Captures of Mississippi 

the evolution of the emba 

a radical change in the 

tary of Ohio River, the 

then connected Benton 

of Crowleys Ridge, had 

ward toward Mississippi 

a lower level than Missis 

tributary stream to perfi 

interesting details described 

back until one of them 

the vicinity of the present 

great stream, accepting 

shorter route southwarc 

carved out a channel suit 

thus abandoned its cours 

Ohio, probably a short 

Madrid.

The Mississippi occupii 

produced the gap which 

and which forms a part 

meantime another small t 

headwaters northward 

Mo., toward Grays Point 

eventually this stream su 

verting its waters 

from its present junction 

period this great major 

by streams of insignificar

After the first capture 

St. Francis rivers, form 

to flow west jof 

have been diverted 

backward into the ridge 

Mississippi were effected

of

from

southward

GEOLOGY. 131

out and partly aggraded a trough nearly 

Mississippi lowland. Crowleys Ridge 

valleys and remains to the present time 

to the deposits that filled the lowlands 

the two great valleys. The flood plain built 

that formed by the Mississippi, except that 

embayment, the plain of the Ohio stood a 

the Mississippi. Only small remnants of 

plain testify to its former existence. 

i River by Ohio River. At this stage in 

ment area an event transpired which caused 

arrangement of the drainage. A small tribusource of which was in the highland that 

Ridge, Mo., and the northern extremity 

gradually pushing its headwaters northRiver. The fact that Ohio River flowed at 

sippi River made it possible for this small 

orm a remarkable feat. Omitting numerous 

by Marbut, the stream cut its headwaters 

finally tapped the Mississippi somewhere in 

village of Delta, and the waters of that 

the advantage offered by this steeper and 

followed the small valley and quickly 

ible to their greater needs. The Mississippi 

e west of Crowleys Ridge and joined the 

listanee south of the present site of New

;d this new course until by lateral cutting it 

now separates Benton and Crowleys ridges, 

the Morehouse lowland of Marbut. In the 

ibutary of Ohio River had been pushing its 

the vicinity of Commerce, Scott County, 

(Graysboro), also in Scott County, and 

cceeded in tapping the Mississippi and dito join the Ohio somewhere not far 

at Cairo. Thus twice in a relatively short 

stream was diverted from its former course 

t size.

}f the Mississippi, the waters of Castor and 

r tributaries of the Mississippi, continued 

Crowleys ] lidge. Since that time both of these streams 

through Crowleys Ridge by small streams working 

in the same manner that the captures of the 

L'Anguille River, one of the consequent
132 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

streams of the Advance lowland in Arkansas, was probably diverted 

through the ridge by capture in Lee County.

Deposition of Recent alluvium. Except for the changes resulting 

from the capture of Castor, St. Francis, and L'Anguille rivers, the 

adjustment of drainage which followed the diversion of Mississippi 

River from the Advance lowland has remained essentially unchanged 

to the present time. In comparatively recent times the streams have 

intrenched themselves a few feet below the old Pleistocene plain 

represented by the interstream levels of the Advance lowland; this 

change was probably caused by a slight elevation of the region. At 

this new level the streams have meandered, cutting laterally and constructing the flood plains as they now exist.

In the Mississippi lowland the old Pleistocene plain has been 

nearly destroyed by the meandering of the present Mississippi River 

and its main tributary, St. Francis River.

Late Pleistocene and, Recent erosion. Since the erosion of the 

great valleys corresponding in geographic extent to the Advance and 

Mississippi lowlands, which took place shortly after the deposition 

of the loess, Crowleys Ridge, the upland east of the Mississippi lowland, and the Grandglaise terrace along the western border of the 

Advance lowland have been partly dissected by erosion.

The old Pleistocene plain represented by the interstream areas of 

the Advance lowland, owing to its low elevation, has been appreciably though only slightly dissected.

SURFACE WATERS.

STREAMS.

All the large streams of the Coastal Plain of Arkansas rise outside 

that area and traverse it in their lower reaches. Mississippi River 

borders Arkansas on the east. St. Francis River enters the State at 

the northeast corner of Clay County, flows southward east of Crowleys Ridge and joins Mississippi River near Helena, Phillips County. 

White River enters the area at Batesville, Independence County, 

flows southward, and joins Mississippi River in Desha County. 

Arkansas River borders the area on the southwest from Little Rock 

southeast to Desha County, where it enters the Mississippi. Black 

River enters the State in Clay County, flows southwestward, and 

joins White River near Newport. Little Red River flows southeastward from near Searcy, joining White River on the eastern border 

of White County. Little River rises northwest of the Mississippi 

embayment, flows southward across the Mississippi lowland from 

Missouri through Mississippi County, Ark., into St. Francis River, 

in Poinsett County.

The principal streams that originate within the Mississippi embayment in Arkansas are Bayou Meto, a tributary of Arkansas
SUBFACE WATERS. 133

River; Cache River, a tributary of White River; Bayou De Vue, a 

tributary of Cache River; and L'Anguille River, a tributary of 

St. Francis River. Numerous small creeks and branches feed all the 

streams.

The gradients of the streams are very low, probably less than a foot 

a mile, and the streams meander sluggishly in sinuous channels 

through broad, shallow flood plains. Many of the creeks and 

branches are locally termed bayous, probably because of their sluggish 

currents. True bayous, many of them occupying abandoned and 

partly filled channels, are numerous in the flood plains and connect 

the ponds and lakes with each other and with the main streams.

The mean annual rainfall of this region, as determined by average 

results of observation at the stations maintained within the area from 

1865 to 1908, inclusive,1 is approximately 50 inches.

According to data compiled by Henry Gannett,2 the average annual 

run-off of the streams is equivalent to a depth of 10 to 20 inches on the 

drainage area, or between one-fifth and two-fifths of the mean annual 

rainfall.

LAKES AND PONDS.

Small lakes and ponds are numerous in the broad river flood plains, 

and many of them occupy abandoned and partly filled channels of 

meandering streams. Some of the more recently formed lakes obviously had that origin, as shape and position show them to be oxbow 

bends abandoned by streams that had found a more direct passage to 

their destination by cutting through the narrow necks of the bows. 

Recent investigations of the Land Office and the United States 

Geological Survey, the results of which have not been published, 

have shown the nonexistence of most of the large lakes in the Mississippi lowland indicated on the old Land Office maps, including 

Tyronza, Youngs, Wappanocca, and St. Francis lakes, and much of 

the Hatchie Coon Sunk Lands. These data were received too late 

for incorporation in the maps accompanying this report. A few 

small ponds and lakes in the interstream plains west of Crowleys 

Ridge doubtless occupy original inequalities in the poorly drained 

Pleistocene plains of the Advance lowland.

SWAMPS.

The poor drainage of the lowland plains which comprise the greater 

part of the area has resulted in the formation of much heavily timbered swamp land. Many of the swamps occupy the broad, shallow 

flood plains of the streams, but swampy tracts also exist on the interstream plains.

1 Only one of the stations was established as early as 1865; the remainder have been 

established at more recent times, one as late as 1905.

2 Hoyt, J. C., and Grover, N. C., River discharge, 2d ed., pi. 8, 1912.
134 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WAFERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

ECONOMIC USES.

The surface waters of the area are of suitable quality for use as 

boiler supplies, for irrigation, and for stock. The waters of the 

streams are suitable for domestic and municipal water supplies, except those that are polluted or heavily loaded with sediment. As 

ground waters unobjectionable in these respects are available in most 

of the area, the surface waters have been adopted only to small 

extent for domestic and municipal use. Where it is impracticable 

to obtain adequate supplies of underground water, as at Little Rock, 

which is on the boundary between the Ozark province and the Gulf 

Coastal Plain, proper filtration will render the surface waters potable. The city water supplies of Little Rock, Pulaski County; Newport, Jackson County; and Luxora, Mississippi County, are obtained 

from Arkansas, White, and Mississippi rivers, respectively.

GROUND WATERS.

SOURCE.

The strata which underlie northeastern Arkansas are saturated 

with water below a level, known as the water table, which ranges 

from the surface to a depth of 100 feet or more. The water table lies 

deepest in Crowleys Ridge and shallowest in the lowlands east and 

west of that ridge; in the swamps it lies continuously or intermittently above the surface of the ground. The water table does not 

occupy a fixed position at any given place but continually fluctuates, 

being highest at the end of a long period of precipitation and lowest 

at the end of a long drought.

Although saturated to the level of the water table the various 

strata do not yield their contained waters to wells with equal readiness. The waters in the more compact layers are so completely 

locked within the fine interstices as to be practically unobtainable. 

Only the more porous sands and gravels yield their waters readily 

and in large quantities; it is to strata composed of these materials 

that the term water-bearing beds is commonly applied, and these 

are the strata that the well driller seeks to reach with the drill.

The location and depth of wells concerning which detailed information has been obtained are indicated in Plate XI.

The greater part of the ground water of northeastern Arkansas is 

derived from rainfall within the borders of the area. The catchment area for the waters of the flowing wells, east of Crowleys 

Ridge, in the Mississippi lowland, however, lies east of Mississippi 

River in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. There is probably 

also a general, though extremely slow movement of the ground 

waters from the head of the Mississippi embayment in Missouri
U S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 399 PLATE XI

36'

^

y

EAE AGOTJLIXe

IZirljl Bethfsda

Mooreweld

Sii plmr

FREN

Hill 

I Oljrphajat

tfioc h fG-ecrn

 Johx sooa-vllle rs

MAIllANNA

LEGEND

adian Bay.i j -* J Location and depth (in feet]

of nonflowing wells

Location and depth (in feet)

of flowing wells

Location and depth (in feet)

of nonflowing wells used in

irrigating rice lands

DlmbleWellB/

Areas in which flowing wells

have been obtained

Areas in which flowing wells 

can probably be obtained

R. B. Marshall, Chief Geographer 

A. F. Hassan, Cartographer 

Compiled in 1912 and 1913

MAP SHOWING GROUND WATERS OF NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS

SNYOER ft BLACK, Prepared under the direction of T. Wayland Vaughan 

by L W. Stephenson and A. F. Crider.

10 20 30 Miles

10 10 20 30 40 Kilometers

1916
GROUND WATERS. 135

southward toward the Gulf. Some water may also leak from the 

Paleozoic basement rocks to the unconsolidated deposits of the Gulf 

Coastal Plain, particularly near the outer border of the embayment 

area.

At certain places elsewhere in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain 

waters absorbed by the strata at the time of their deposition on the 

bottom of the ocean have remained locked in the interstices of the 

materials to the present time, and unless such waters have been 

greatly modified by subsequent mixture with waters from other 

sources, their resemblance to sea water renders it possible for the 

chemist to detect their marine origin. There is, however, no evidence to show that any of the underground waters of northeastern 

Arkansas are originally included sea waters, and it may be repeated 

that nearly all the ground water now recovered by wells in that area 

is derived from rainfall within the area itself.

DISPOSAL.

Van Hise * has estimated that at least 99 per cent of the meteoric 

waters that enter the earth return to the surface sooner or later, the 

remaining 1 per cent or less entering into chemical combination with 

minerals. A large part of the ground water gradually returns to 

the surface by capillary attraction and is evaporated; a large part 

is taken up by the roots of plants and is eventually evaporated; and 

a large part emerges at the surface as springs and flows away in 

streams. In an area underlain by strata that are inclined slightly 

toward the ocean, as in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, there is 

probably a constant though extremely slow movement of the ground 

waters in the direction of the coast, so that a large proportion of 

these waters may reach the ocean by this course. In some thickly 

settled regions, where enough water is removed from the earth by 

wells to lower the water table appreciably, the problem of conserving 

the ground waters becomes important.

QUANTITY.

In the part of Arkansas included in the Mississippi embayment 

ground waters are abundant except in certain locally unfavorable 

areas. The depth to water-bearing strata of large capacity differs, 

but throughout the lowlands which comprise the greater part of the 

area, large quantities of water are obtained at depths -of 50 to 20C 

feet. Many wells in the rice-growing areas are pumped at rates between 1,000 and 3,000 gallons a minute, or even more, but reports 

so far received indicate no appreciable decrease in the underground 

supplies.

1 Van Hise, C. R., Treatise on metamorphism : TJ. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 47, p. 156, 1904.
136 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS. 

STBATIGBAPHIC DISTBIBUTION. 

CRETACEOUS DEPOSITS.

The beds of porous sand which partly compose the buried Cretaceous deposits of the area constitute an important, though largely 

undeveloped, source of artesian water. The depth to the Cretaceous 

deposits has not been determined precisely at any place, but according to the interpretation of the record of a well at Memphis, Tenn., 

strata of this age were first encountered there at a depth of 1,135 

feet. In northeastern Arkansas flowing wells that doubtless tap 

water-bearing beds of Cretaceous age are in use at Blytheville, 

Mississippi County (depth 1,448 feet); Burdette, Mississippi County 

(depth, 1,495.5 feet); Wilson, Mississippi County (depth, 1,567 

feet); and Marked Tree, Poinsett County (depth, 2,007 feet). Nonflowing wells that tap beds of this age are located at Jonesboro, 

Craighead County (1,214 and 1,265 feet deep, respectively), and 

at Newport, Jackson County (depth to Paleozoic rocks, 655 feet).

TERTIARY DEPOSITS. 

EOCENE STRATA.

Basal Eocene strata, which outcrop in the Grandglaise terrace 

along the western border of the Mississippi embayment, have been 

correlated with the Midway formation, and the Eocene deposits 

that compose the core of Crowleys Ridge have been roughly separated in ascending order into the Wilcox, Claiborne, and Jackson 

formations. With these exceptions, the deposits of Eocene age which 

underlie practically all eastern and northeastern Arkansas, beneath 

the Pleistocene and Recent alluvial deposits, remain undifferentiated, 

and until a large amount of accurate well data has been obtained 

must be treated as a unit. A few wells scattered over the area have 

demonstrated that these buried Eocene deposits contain important 

water-bearing beds and constitute a possible source of artesian 

water, which is still largely undeveloped.

The Eocene strata dip slightly away from the rim of the Mississippi embayment, and their numerous interbedded layers of porous 

sand contain waters under sufficient hydrostatic pressure to bring them 

within easy reach of ordinary force or suction pumps, and perhaps in 

places in the Mississippi lowland, to produce flows at the surface. 

Deep wells have not been drilled in sufficient number to determine the 

vertical positions of the more extensive water-bearing portions of 

the deposits. Some wells have shown the presence of thick beds of 

clay which are economically not water bearing; others have encountered sands which, locally at least, are abundantly water bearing.
GROUND WATERS. 137

Concerning a few wells, notably certain ones on or near Crowleys 

Ridge, the probable subdivision of the Eocene to which the waterbearing beds belong can be indicated.

The wells known to tap water-bearing beds in the Eocene deposits 

are indicated in the tables of well data accompanying the descriptions of the water resources of the various counties. A few of the 

more important wells will, however, be mentioned here.

At Marked Tree, Poinsett County, there are four wells, 392 to 400 

feet in depth (see wells Nos. 4-7, p. 248), which tap a water-bearing 

bed of Eocene age, probably belonging to the upper part of the Wilcox formation. The water is obtained between the depths 360 and 400 

feet and rises within 1| to 8 feet of the surface. This stratum is 

an important aquifer, at least locally, since each of the four wells 

yields enough water to supply the boilers of a large lumber mill.

At Blytheville, Mississippi County, a well 520 feet deep (see well 

No. 2, p 228) taps a water-bearing sand at a depth of 500 feet; the 

water rises within 15 feet of the surface, and the yield is sufficient 

to supply the boilers of a large lumber mill. This stratum is believed 

to be in the Wilcox formation of the Eocene.

At Turrell, in Crittenden County, gray water-bearing sand, probably belonging to the basal portion of the Wilcox formation, is encountered in the lower 24 feet of an 864-foot well (well No. 5, p. 178); 

the static head of the well is 12 feet below the surface.

Wells at Wynne, Cross County, 186, 250, and 360 feet deep, respectively (wells Nos. 15, 16, 19, p. 184), tap water-bearing beds 

in Eocene deposits, probably belonging to the Wilcox formation of 

that series.

At Parkin, in Cross County, two wells, 480 and 597 feet deep, respectively, obtain water from beds of sand believed to belong to the 

upper part of the Wilcox formation (wells Nos. 9, 10, p. 184). In 

one well (No. 9) the water rises within 10 feet of the surface, and in 

another (No. 10) within 12 feet of the surface; each well supplies the 

boilers of a large mill which manufactures wood products.

Another well which taps a coarse, water-bearing sand, probably 

belonging to the upper part of the Wilcox formation, is at. Earl, 

Crittenden County (well No. 1, p. 178). It is 474 feet deep, and 

the water-bearing sand makes up the lower 60 feet of the section; 

the static head is 14| feet below the surface.

The municipal water supply of Forrest City, St. Francis County, 

is obtained from three wells, 425, 425-f-, and 450 feet in depth, respectively, which at a depth of 400 feet tap a coarse, water-bearing 

sand probably referable to the upper part of the Wilcox formation; 

the water rises within 70 feet of the surface (wells Nos. 3, 4, 5, 

p. 268).
138 GEOLOGT AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

The municipal water supply of Marianna, Lee County, is taken 

from two wells, each 619 feet deep (wells Nos. 3, 4, p. 212). Here 

the source of the water is white sand of Eocene age; the water rises 

within 60 feet of the surface.

At and near Helena, Phillips County, numerous wells, including 

those of the city waterworks, tap clean coarse to fine water-bearing 

sands at depths of 450 to 575 feet; these sands probably belong to 

the Claibome formation (wells Nos. 2-6, p. 240). The water, which 

is soft and of excellent quality for domestic and industrial supplies, 

rises within 18 to 40 feet of the surface.

A 400-foot well at Barton, Phillips County, taps a water-bearing 

sand which probably corresponds to that penetrated by the wells at 

Helena; the static head is 20 feet below the surface and the water 

is soft (well No. 13 p. 240).

At Brinkley, in Monroe County, the municipal water supply is 

obtained from a well (565 feet deep), which penetrates a fine, white, 

water-bearing sand in the lower 68 feet of the section; the static 

head is 40 feet below the surface (well No. 1, p. 232).

LAFAYETTE FORMATION (PLIOCENE?).

The Lafayette formation is locally water bearing in Crowleys 

Ridge, where it is tapped by numerous bored and dug wells; the 

waters belong to the nonartesian class (p. 139) and are used for house 

and farm supplies. The formation is the source of the waters of 

many small springs.

QUATERNARY DEPOSITS.

The loess is not an important water-bearing formation because of 

its close texture and its elevated topographic position.

The Pleistocene alluvium, which underlies the Advance lowland 

to an estimated maximum depth of 200 feet, is, from an economic 

standpoint, the most important water-bearing formation in northeastern Arkansas. In the interstream areas the materials immediately underlying the surface almost everywhere are compact, silty 

clays that are nearly impervious to water and therefore protect the 

waters below them from surface pollution. The waters are contained chiefly in the fine to coarse sands and gravels which compose 

the lower one-half to two-thirds of the deposits.

In the Mississippi lowland the coarse sands and gravels of Pleistocene age, which largely compose the basal portion of the Quaternary alluvial deposits also are abundantly water bearing.

The sands and gravels of the Recent alluvium contain abundant 

water suitable for use in boilers and other industrial operations. In 

general, these waters are not considered desirable for domestic use
GROUND WATERS. 139

because of the danger of pollution; where local beds of impervious 

clay overlie the water-bearing beds, the waters may, however be 

safely used.

SPRINGS.

Numerous small springs in Crowleys Ridge and in the Grandglaise terrace are used to a small extent as house and farm supplies. 

In the lowlands seepage springs are common along the stream banks, 

along the margins of swamps, and at the heads of small branches, but 

they are of slight importance because of their intermittent character 

and small yield.

NONARTESIA1T WATERS.

DEFINITION AND IMPORTANCE.

The term " nonartesian " is in this report applied to ground waters 

that are not under sufficient hydrostatic pressure to force them above 

the containing beds when they are tapped by wells or other excavations. Nonartesian waters are of great economic importance in the 

Arkansas lowlands because they are used more extensively than 

those of any other class for domestic and industrial supplies and for 

irrigation. Their value has become more fully appreciated since their 

applicability to rice lands has been demonstrated.

The nonartesian waters are contained in the alluvial deposits which 

underlie the Mississippi- lowland and the Advance lowland to depths 

of 100 to 225 feet. The water table in these deposits ranges in vertical 

position from the surface to a depth of 65 feet.

Except perhaps locally these waters do not rise at all in wells 

above the level of the water table or rise only slightly above it. In 

the tables of well data which accompany the county descriptions 

the depth to the principal water-bearing bed of most wells is reported as greater than the depth at which the water stands in the 

wells; but the principal water-bearing bed is generally understood by 

well owners and drillers to be the coarse, basal sands and gravels 

which yield their contained waters readily, and the true water table is 

at a higher level in the finer overlying sands, which are an essential 

part of the reservoir. The geologic position of the nonartesian waters 

is graphically represented in <z, figure 3, p. 142, and 6, figure 4, p. 143.

METHODS OF DEVELOPMENT.

The nonartesian waters are obtained by means of dug, bored, and 

driven wells, and are raised by rope and bucket, hand suction or force 

pumps, windmills^ and various types of more powerful steam or 

gasoline driven pumps. The type of well, its depth and diameter, 

and the kind of lifting machinery are determined by the purpose to
140 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

which the waters are to be put and the amount of water required. 

Wells intended to supply municipalities, large factories, and irrigated lands are equipped with powerful machinery, centrifugal 

pumps and air lifts being most generally used. 1

ARTESIAN WATERS. 

DEFINITION.

The term " artesian " is applied in this report to ground waters that 

are under sufficient hydrostatic pressure to force them above the level 

of the containing beds when they are penetrated by wells or other excavations. Thus artesian water does not necessarily overflow, and 

an artesian well may be either flowing or nonflowing. The significance of the term " artesian " has been discussed by Fuller.2

GENERAL CONDITIONS GOVERNING OCCURRENCE.

Fuller's summary 3 of the essentials and secondary factors of artesian flows, which is applicable also to nonflowing artesian waters, is 

quoted below:

The essentials of artesian flows, as recognized by the writer, are as follows:

1. An adequate source of water supply.

2. A retaining agent offering more resistance to the passage of water than 

the well or other opening.

3. An adequate source of pressure.

The first requisite is not made specific as regards source, because, as has been 

pointed out, artesian waters are not derived from a single but from a variety 

of sources. The second requisite the retaining agent may be a stratum, a 

vein or dike wall, a joint, fault, or other fracture plane, a water layer, or some 

one of a variety of other agents. * * * The pressure, although primarily 

due to variations in level in the different parts of the artesian system, may be 

transmitted in so many ways and is subject to so many modifying factors that 

the postulation of a specific cause is impracticable. * * *

It is believed that the three factors stated in the preceding paragraph are 

fill that can be considered as essential to artesian flows, all other postulated 

requisites being in reality modifying or accessory rather than essential factors. These secondary factors may be classified as follows:

1 Wilson, H. M., Pumping water for irrigation: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 

1, 57 pp., 1896.

Murphy, E. C., Windmills for irrigation : U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 8, 

49 pp., 1897.

Hood, O. P., New tests of certain pumps and water lifts used in irrigation: U. S. Geol. 

Survey Water-Supply Paper 14, 91 pp., 1898.

Perry, T. O. Experiments with windmills: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 20, 

97 pp., 1899.

These reports can be consulted only in libraries, as the editions have long been 

exhausted.

2 Fuller, M. L., Underground-water papers: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 160, 

pp. 9-15, 1908.

8 Fuller, M. L., Summary of the controlling factors of artesian flows: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 319, pp. 36, 37, 1908.
GROUND WATERS. 141

Secondary factors of artesian flows.

I. Hydrostatic factors (relating to pressure and movement) :

1. Factors mainly affecting pressure 

(a) Barometric pressure. 

(&) Temperature. 

(c) Density. 

(a) Rock pressure.

2. Factors mainly affecting movement 

(a) Porosity.

(8) Size of pores or openings, 

(c) Temperature. 

II. Geologic factors (relating to reservoir) :

1. Character of reservoir.

2. Retaining agents.

3. Structure of reservoir.

4. Topographic conditions.

5. Conditions relating to supply 

(a) Catchment conditions. 

(&) Condition of underground feed.

6. Conditions of leakage.

Hydrostatic pressure in ground waters results from various causes, 

but any set of conditions that produces such pressure may be termed 

an artesian system. Fuller 1 has illustrated by diagrams several of 

the more common artesian systems.

CONDITIONS IN THE ADVANCE LOWLAND.

The artesian and nonartesian conditions from north to south in the 

Advance lowland west of Crowleys Ridge are shown diagrammatically in figure 3. The Eocene and Cretaceous strata which contain the artesian waters are completely covered by Quaternary alluvial deposits (a) which contain nonartesian waters. Rain is absorbed 

by the alluvium chiefly through the sandy surface materials (c) 

forming the broad flood plains of the present streams, but in part 

through the slightly pervious silty loams and clays (&) which immediately underlie the interstream areas. The alluvial deposits are 

saturated with water below the level of the water table, which lies 

from a few feet to 65 feet below the surface; the tendency to develop 

hydrostatic pressure in the water contained in the alluvial deposits 

produced by their slight southward tilt is overcome by friction and 

the waters are therefore nonartesian.

The alluvial deposits serve as a catchment area for the waterbearing beds of the underlying Eocene and Cretaceous strata which 

dip at a greater angle to the southward; the water gains entrance to 

these beds at the points indicated by the arrows (k). In the pervious 

stratum (d) which lies between two relatively impervious strata, the

1 Fuller, M. L., Summary of the controlling factors of artesian flows: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 319, pp. 38-42, 1908.
142 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

only hindrance to the passage of the water down the dip is friction; 

friction in the bed below the point at which it is tapped by the well 

produces a certain amount of hydrostatic pressure. In the pervious 

stratum (e) which pinches out down the dip between two relatively 

impervious strata, hydrostatic pressure is produced by the weight of 

the confined water. The pervious stratum (/) merges down the dip 

into relatively impervious materials and hydrostatic pressure is produced in the same manner as in stratum (e) . In the pervious stratum

FIGURE 3. Section to illustrate artesian and nonartesian conditions in the Advance lowland west of Crowleys Ridge, Ark. For explanation see text.

(g] the passage of the water down the dip is prevented by an unconformity, and hydrostatic pressure is produced in the same manner as 

in the two preceding cases.

Although hydrostatic pressure exists in the southward-dipping 

Cretaceous and Eocene strata of the Advance lowland as represented 

in figure 3, the conditions, so far as understood and so far as tested, 

seem to be unfavorable for the development of sufficient pressure to 

force the water above the surface of the ground.

CONDITIONS IN THE MISSISSIPPI LOWLAND.

In the Mississippi lowland east of Crowleys Ridge the conditions 

which, when viewed from north to south, appear to be similar to those 

in the Advance lowland west of the ridge, are modified by a set of 

east-west conditions favorable to the production of hydrostatic pressure sufficient to cause overflows at the surface in wells 1,000 feet or 

more in depth. Figure 4 represents these conditions along a line from 

the vicinity of Lexington, Tenn., westward through Mississippi 

County, Ark., to Crowleys Ridge, and similar conditions probably 

exist throughout the greater part of the Mississippi lowland. (See 

PL XL) This area is underlain beneath 150 to 225 feet of Quaternary 

alluvial deposits, in descending order, by 2,000 to 3,000 feet or more of 

Eocene and Cretaceous strata which rise eastward and outcrop in 

Tennessee and Mississippi at elevations of 400 to 600 feet. On 

account of the greater elevation of the catchment area and the con-
GROUND WATERS. 143

sequent greater weight of the waters confined in the inclined strata, 

greater hydrostatic pressure is developed in the deposits underlying 

the Mississippi lowland. This is believed to be the explanation of the 

flows obtained in Mississippi County at Blytheville (depth, 1,448 

feet), Burdette (depth, 1,495 feet), and Wilson (depth, 1,567 feet), 

and in Poinsett County at Marked Tree (depth, 2,007 feet).

Z5

Horizontal scale 

25

2,500

Vertical scale 

o 2,500 5.000 Feet

FIGURE 4. Generalized section to explain the cause of artesian flows in the Mississippi 

lowland : Water entering the Eocene and Cretaceous deposits in the catchment area a a 

passes down the inclined strata by gravity. Hydrostatic pressure is developed in the 

several ways explained in figure 3, and because of the greater elevation of the catchment area the pressure is great enough to cause overflows in the Mississippi lowland. 

6 is the Quaternary alluvium of the Mississippi Valley.

ECONOMIC USES. 

GENERAL USES.

Throughout northeastern Arkansas water for domestic and farm 

use is obtained chiefly from wells. Except Little Rock, Pulaski 

County; Newport, Jackson County; and Luxora, Mississippi 

County; which use the waters of Arkansas, White, and Mississippi 

rivers, respectively, the towns and cities having municipal waterworks are supplied from wells. Nearly all the manufacturing plants 

and railroads draw from the same source. The ground waters have 

been used locally in a small way for irrigating lands devoted to 

market gardening, but because of the relatively high precipitation the 

necessity for such irrigation is keenly felt only at occasional intervals. 

The advantage gained, however, by even distribution of moisture 

during the growing season would doubtless render profitable the general establishment of pumping plants on garden farms.
144 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

RICE CULTURE. 1 

HISTORY.

Rice has been grown commercially in Arkansas since 1904 and conditions are ideal for the rapid development of the industry. The soils 

of most of the prairie land in the interstream areas of the Advance 

lowland between Crowleys Kidge and Arkansas Kiver are peculiarly 

adapted in composition and distribution to the raising of this cereal, 

and large quantities of the water necessary for irrigation lie at relatively shallow depths beneath the prairies. For the following account of the beginning of the rice-growing industry in the prairies 

of Arkansas the authors are indebted to Mr. W. H. Fuller, of Lonoke, 

the pioneer experimenter who raised the first commercially important 

crop of rice in the State, and to Mr. E. G. Norton, of Brinkley, who 

has taken special pains to furnish data from reliable sources.

In August and September, 1896, Mr. Fuller and Mr. H. H. Puryear 

made a wagon trip from Lonoke southward through Arkansas and 

Louisiana to the Gulf of Mexico. Eight miles north of Crowley, La., 

they saw rice fields owned and operated by Abbott Bros., of Crowley. As this was the first rice either of them had seen growing, they 

spent two days studying the plantations of Abbott Bros, and of 

W. W. Duson, and became convinced that the conditions under, which 

rice was grown in the prairies of southwestern Louisiana were essentially like those existing in the prairies of Lonoke County, Ark.

After his return to Lonoke, Mr. Fuller made preparations to raise 

an experimental crop of rice on his farm, 8 miles southeast of 

Lonoke (in the NW. ± sec. 8, T. 1 N., K. 7 W.). He drilled two 

4-inch wells, installed a pumping plant, and in the spring of 1897 

planted 3 acres in rice. Some of the seed germinated, grew, and 

headed out, but because of an accident to the pumping plant and 

consequent failure to apply the necessary amount of water to the crop 

the grain did not reach maturity. Yet the experiment, so far as it 

went, was successful, for it demonstrated that the grain, if properly 

irrigated, could be raised on the prairies of Arkansas.

In 1898 Mr. Fuller moved to Louisiana and engaged in rice culture 

on the prairies of that State for four seasons; he familiarized himself in a practical way with the methods employed in preparing the 

soil, planting the seed, irrigating the growing plants, and harvesting 

the grain; he also learned how wells were drilled and equipped for

1 Literature relating to rice culture in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas :

Bond, Frank, Irrigation of rice on the uplands of Louisiana and Texas : U. S. Dept. 

Agr. Office Exper. Sta. Bull. 113, 19 pis., 9 figs., pp. 1-57, 1902.

Fuller, M. L., Riee irrigation in southern Louisiana : U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply 

Paper 101, pis. 9-11, figs. 13-15, pp. 82-94, 1904.

Knapp, S. A., Rice culture: U. S. Dept. Agr. Farmers' Bull. 417, 30 pp., 1910.

Bonsteel, J. A., The Crowley silt loam: U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. Soils Circ. 54, 8 pp., 1912.
GROUND WATERS. 145

supplying water for irrigation. During 1903, while Mr. Fuller was 

in Louisiana, 5 acres of rice were grown in Lonoke County by the 

Johnson Morris family; no detailed information has been obtained 

concerning this crop.

In the fall of 1903 Mr. Fuller returned to Arkansas, and with the 

financial backing of citizens of Carlisle and Hazen, he made preparations to raise a crop of rice on a commercial scale. A well was drilled 

and equipped for pumping on Mr. Fuller's farm, and 70 acres was 

planted to rice in the spring of 1904; at the end of the season 5,225 

bushels were harvested. The total cost of producing this crop, including the cost of drilling and equipping the well, was $3,147, .and 

the crop sold for $1 a bushel. During the same season a branch station of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station was established 1^ miles west of Lonoke, where 750 bushels of rice were raised 

on 10 acres of land. Rice was also raised during the same season by 

the Morris family, but no statistics concerning the crop are available.

PRODUCTION.

The completely successful efforts of Mr. Fuller and of the experiment station to raise rice demonstrated beyond question that this 

cereal could be grown at a profit on the prairies of Arkansas, and the 

lessons taught by these demonstrations were quickly learned. The 

rapid development of the rice-growing industry in Arkansas from 

1905 to 1914, inclusive, is shown by the following table compiled by, 

the United States Department of Agriculture :

Acreage and production of rice in Arkansas, 1905 to 1914, inclusive.

Year.

1905.................

1906.................

1907.................

1908.................

1909.................

Acreage.

460

6,000

28,000

Production.

Bushels. 

22,356

131,440

222,000

Average 

per acre.

Bushels. 

48.6

01

40

Year.

1910................

1911

1912................

1913................

1914................

Acreage.

71,600

104, 700

99 580

Production.

Bv-xhels.

3,685,000

Average 

per acre.

Bushels. 

40

39

07 c

orj o

In 10 years (1904-1913, inclusive) the acreage devoted to rice culture in Arkansas increased from 80 to 104,700 and the production 

from 5,975 to 3,769,000 bushels. The rather marked decrease in 

acreage and production in 1914 was due chiefly to abnormally low 

prices, but statistics for 1915 compiled by the Department of Agriculture indicate a return to normal conditions.

The cereal was grown chiefly on the prairies of the Advance lowland between Crowleys Eidge on the east, the Ozark province on the 

northwest, and Arkansas River on the southwest. In 1912 the cereal 

was successfully grown in 13 counties, as follows: Arkansas, Jefferson, 

11674° WSP 399 16 10
146 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Lonoke, Prairie, Monroe, Lee, St. Francis, Woodruff, Cross, Poinsett, 

Craighead, Lawrence^ and Clay. Since the data on which this report 

is based were collected the industry has probably spread to several 

other counties. The chief productive area is at present within the 

first four counties named, and the greatest development has been 

in Grand Prairie, which extends from the northern part of Lonoke 

County southeastward through Prairie and Arkansas counties, and 

in Prairie Longue, which extends northwest and southeast through 

the central part of Lonoke County. Another area in which the 

industry is rapidly developing extends a little east of north from 

the vicinity of Brinkley and includes part of Monroe, Lee, St. Francis, Woodruff, Cross, Poinsett, and Craighead counties. The grain 

also is grown in several scattered localities in the above-mentioned 

counties.

OUTLOOK.

Though the number of acres of land suitable for rice culture in the 

area under consideration has not been accurately estimated, only a 

small part, probably less than 5 per cent, of the available land has 

been put under cultivation. As water for irrigation is present in 

great abundance at relatively shallow depths throughout the area, 

the outlook for the development of the industry to large proportions 

is most promising. The greater part of the potential rice land is in 

the Advance lowland west of Crowleys Eidge; immediately east of 

the ridge, however, there is a belt, nowhere more than 5 or 6 miles 

wide, extending from the northern boundary southward as far as 

the southern part of Craighead County, in parts of which the conditions of soil, topography, and available water supply are essentially the same as in the area west of the ridge; near Nettleton, 

Craighead County, which is in this belt, rice has already been successfully grown.

WATER SUPPLY.

Water for irrigating the rice fields is obtained chiefly from the 

Pleistocene alluvial deposits which underlie the Advance lowland 

to depths of 100 to 200 feet. Wells 6 to 12 inches in diameter are 

sunk to the coarse sands and gravels in the lower part of the deposits, which contain large quantities of water. The wells are 

equipped with powerful pumps, centrifugal pumps being generally 

used, and yield from 200 to 4,000 gallons a minute. The cost of 

drilling and equipping a well ranges from $125 to $5,000; the average cost of sinking the wells and installing the pumping machinery, 

as estimated from statistics regarding 102 wells, is $1,085 per 1,000 

gallons- of yield per minute.
GROUND WATEES. 147

Though wells are the chief source of water for irrigation, lands 

near streams and bayous might be irrigated with surface water. 

Surface waters have been utilized only to a small extent in Arkansas, 

but they are widely used in Louisiana and eastern Texas, where pumping plants on the banks of the streams lift the water to the canals. 

Utilization of ground water from porous beds near the surface has 

the added advantage of reducing danger of damage to the land by 

water-logging and rise of the alkali, both of which troubles have 

seriously affected much land in other parts of the United States 

where the ground water level is normally near the surface. The 

application of water pumped from beneath the irrigated tract'tends 

not only to lower the water table but also to produce downward circulation that removes the alkali. Such circulation is important in growing a crop like rice, for which the duty of water is very low.

SOIL.

-The typical soil of the prairies of Arkansas is known as the Crowley silt loam, the name being derived from Crowley, La., where a 

similar soil is widely developed. Its physical characteristics and 

availability have been described by Bonsteel l as follows:

The Crowley silt loam is a brown or ashy gray silt loam ranging in depth 

from 10 to 16 inches, underlain by a gray or mottled heavy silt loam or silty clay 

which frequently contains concretions of iron and calcium carbonate. The subsoil ranges in color from gray to reddish yellow, mottled with red and brown, 

and is stiff and impervious in all localities where it has been encountered. 

* * *

Before the introduction of rice culture upon this soil type very little agricultural use was made of it. In Arkansas the prairie grasses were used for 

grazing purposes, and the better drained and higher lying portions of the type 

were beginning to be cultivated to cereal grains and forage crops. These 

uses of the type, however, are entirely subordinate to its principal utilization as 

the chief rice-growing soil of the Western Gulf States. While small areas are 

annually planted to cotton, corn, cowpeas, and even oats or wheat, the great 

use of the soil is for the production of the rice crop.

The Crowley silt loam, owing to its flat topography, to its slight elevation 

above the main drainage channels, and to the impervious nature of both the 

surface soil and subsoil, is in its natural condition for the most part poorly 

drained. * * *

The Crowley silt loam is the typical rice land of southwestern Louisiana and 

east-central Arkansas. It is probable that more rice is grown upon this soil 

than upon all other rice soils in the United States. In fact, the development of 

this type for agricultural purposes has been almost coextensive with the development of the rice industry in the Western Gulf States.

Although the Crowley silt loam is best adapted to rice culture in 

the area under consideration, the cultivation of the cereal has been 

successfully extended to several closely related soils which, as classified by the Bureau of Soils, possess the qualities essential to the

1 Bonsteel, J. A., U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. Soils Circ. 54, pp. 3-5, 1912.
148 GEOLOGY AKD GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

growth of the grain. Knapp,1 discussing the adaptability of soik 

to rice culture, states:

The best soil for rice is a medium loam containing about 50 per cent of clay. 

This allows the presence of sufficient humus for the highest fertility without 

decreasing too much the compact nature of the soil. * * *

The best rice lands are underlain by a semi-impervious subsoil. Otherwise 

the land can not be satisfactorily drained at time of harvest in order to permit 

the use of improved harvesting machinery. The alluvial lands along the 

Mississippi in Louisiana are not underlain by hardpan, and they can not be 

drained sufficiently to permit the use of heavy harvesters and teams of horses.

Gravelly or sandy soils are not adapted to rice cultivation because they do 

not posses the mechanical conditions for the retention of water, and for other 

reasons above mentioned. Occasionally, on a light sandy soil, underlain by a 

stiff subsoil, one or two fairly good crops of rice may be grown, but this is the 

limit.

DUTY OF WATER.

F. H. King,2 professor of agricultural physics in the University 

of Wisconsin, states that the usual duty of water for rice in the 

United States is 38.6 acres per cubic foot per second, which is equivalent to covering the surface with 6.2 inches of water every 10 days. 

He also states that in Italy the amount of water applied every 10 

days is 5.55 inches, while in Egypt only 3.4 inches is provided for the 

same period.

Brown 3 estimates that in Egypt 1 cubic meter per second is sufficient for 1,440 acres of rice, his estimate being based on the assumption, corroborated by extensive observations, that rice requires twice 

as much water as most other crops. This duty is equivalent to 40.75 

acres irrigated for each cubic foot per second of water. The water 

is usually applied after intervals of 9 days. He gives the customary 

duty in India as 50 acres per cubic foot per second, the water being 

applied after intervals of 12 days. If the interval is 11 days, this 

duty becomes 51 acres per cubic foot per second.

Buckley 4 states that a rice crop in the Punjab district of India 

receives 96 inches of water and requires 48 to 72 inches of water 

during the growing season; he estimates the duty in Spain as 31 

acres per cubic foot per second.

Other estimates of the duty of water in rice culture are 50 to 60 

acres per cubic foot per second in Egypt; 5 40 acres per cubic foot 

per second in Italy; 6 and 43.75 acres per cubic foot per second in the 

Cavour Canal district of Italy.7

1 Knapp, S. A., Rice culture: TJ. S. Dept. Agr. Farmers' Bull. 417, pp. 8, 9, 1910.

2 King, P. H., Irrigation and drainage, pp. 231-233, New York, 1908.

3 Brown, Hanbury, Irrigation, its principles and practices as a branch of engineering, 

pp. 37, 38, London, 1907.

4 Buckley, R. B., Facts, figures, and formulae for irrigation engineers, pp. 126, 133, New 

York, 1908.

6 Idem, p. 133.

6 Estimate by Col. Baird Smith, quoted by Buckley, idem, p. 137.

7 Estimate by Sir S. C. Moncrieff, quoted by Buckley, idem, p. 136.
ARKANSAS COUNTY. 149

Reports collected by Collier* from members of the Arkansas Rice 

Growers' Association indicate that 57 per cent of the growers commence applying water four or five weeks and 43 per cent two or three 

weeks after sowing. Sixty per cent keep the water on the field 3 

inches or less deep; 28 per cent 3 to 5 inches deep; and 12 per cent 

5 or more inches deep. Somewhat more than half the growers 

reported that they prefer water pumped from wells to surface water, 

but the rest expressed no preference. More than nine-tenths stated 

that cold water direct from wells harms the growing plants.

COUNTY DESCRIPTIONS.2

ARKANSAS COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Arkansas County is in the east-central part of the State between 

Arkansas and White rivers. Its area is 1,000 square miles and its 

population was reported by the census of 1910 as 16,103. Stock 

raising and agriculture, which includes trucking, cotton raising, the 

cutting of prairie hay, the raising of rice, corn, and other cereals, are 

the principal industries.

The general surface is a slightly undulating plain sloping from 

an elevation of about 215 feet above sea level in the northern part 

to 150 feet in the southern part of the county, and comprising the 

prairies, which include much of the interstream areas, the timbered 

lands, which include the remainder of the interstream areas, and the 

flood plains bordering the streams. The prairies are open, grassy 

tracts forming part of Grand Prairie (p. 27); they cover the northern part of the county and form interstream areas, a few miles to 10 

miles wide, extending southward, the southern limit being 5 or 6 

miles south of Gillett. In the east the prairies closely border White 

River, which has cut into the edge of them in places. The general 

level of the prairies is 45 or 50 feet above the low-water level of 

Arkansas and White rivers.

The gently undulating interstream timbered lands border the 

shallow valleys and intertongue irregularly with the prairie lands 

The flood plains lie a few feet to 30 feet below the level of the prairies 

and form poorly drained wooded or cultivated tracts 10 to 12 miles 

in maximum width. The broadest flood plains are in the west, bordering Arkansas River and Bayou Meto, and in the south where the 

bottom lands of Arkansas and White rivers merge into Mississippi 

River bottom.

1 Collier, J. S., Report of investigations concerning rice, Arkansas Rice Growers' Assoc., 

1910.

2 This report was transmitted for publication in June, 1913, and the development of the 

water resources of northeastern Arkansas as herein indicated is based on data collected 

prior to that date.
150 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Arkansas River and its tributary Bayou Meto form the southwestern boundary of the county and White River the eastern boundary. The principal streams within the county are Mill Creek, a 

tributary of Bayou Meto, and Lagrue River, a tributary of White 

River.

GEOLOGY.

The surface is underlain by Pleistocene alluvium consisting of 

clays, sands, and gravels ranging in thickness from 100 to 180 feet or 

more. The materials are irregularly bedded, but in general grade 

downward from fine, compact, gray or reddish clays through fine 

sands to coarse, water-bearing sands and gravels at the base. The 

coarse basal materials carry water in practically inexhaustible quantities. The surface distribution of the Pleistocene alluvium is coextensive with the distribution of the interstream lands of the county.

The streams have meandered and eroded away the Pleistocene alluvium to undetermined depths, and the valleys thus formed have been 

partly refilled with Recent alluvium, which constitutes the material 

of the present flood plains.

The Pleistocene alluvium rests unconformably on a buried surface 

of undifferentiated Tertiary strata which are believed to consist of 

sands, clays, and marls and to contain important water-bearing beds, 

though no logs have been preserved of the few wells that have been 

drilled deep enough to enter the Tertiary strata. (See well No. 31, 

p. 157.)

WATER RESOURCES. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

Domestic supplies. Water for household use is obtained chiefly 

from wells 30 to 150 feet deep drawing from the water-bearing sands 

and gravels of the Pleistocene and Recent alluvial deposits. The 

waters, as reported by the well owners, differ in quality, some being 

soft, some hard, some ferruginous, and a few saline, but with rare exceptions they are suitable for domestic and industrial use. No flowing wells have been reported, the static head ranging from 12 to 65 

feet below the surface. The Pleistocene and Recent alluvial deposits 

which extend from the surface to depths of 150 to 180 feet contain 

large quantities of water suitable for general use, and the water-bearing beds of the Tertiary deposits which underlie the Pleistocene probably contain water in great abundance.

Irrigation. Water for irrigating the extensive rice lands is obtained chiefly from wells 70 to 232 feet deep. The average depth of 

such wells about 136 feet is greater than that of domestic wells, 

most of them reaching the coarser sands and gravels forming the
ABKANSAS COUNTY. 151

basal beds of the Pleistocene alluvium. The irrigation wells are 

equipped to yield by pumping 600 to 2,200 gallons a minute. Detailed 

information has been recorded concerning 33 wells used in irrigation 

of rice lands (see table on pp. 154-159), but probably more than 250 

wells are in use. The cost of drilling and equipping the wells for 

pumping, according to reports on 29 wells, ranges from $650 to 

$3,000, the average cost of drilling and equipping the wells being, in 

round numbers, $1,500 for each 1,000 gallons a minute of water.

LOCAL SUPPLIES.

Stuttgart. The municipal waterworks of Stuttgart (population 

2,740, census of 1910) is owned by the Stuttgart Water & Electric 

Light Co., and water is obtained from three wells, two of which 

are 110 and 131.75 feet deep (Nos. 29 and 30, pp. 156, 157). The 

water is soft and is forced from the wells by an air compressor having 

a capacity of 400 gallons a minute; it is stored in a 35,000-gallon 

reservoir and is distributed through 7 miles of mains. The ordinary 

direct pressure is 40 pounds per square inch, but it can be increased to 

110 pounds per square inch for fire protection. The daily consumption is 180,000 gallons for general use and 700,000 gallons for manufacturing.

The following is a log of the 131.75-foot well drilled in 1909:

Log of well owned by the Stuttgart Water & Electric Light Co., Stuttgart.

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium:

Thickness.

Feet. 

12

80

39.75

Depth.

Feet. 

12

92

131.75

The material from a depth of 100 feet in a well owned by G. H. 

Kline, near Stuttgart, consists of very coarse pebbly sand with, 

numerous angular fragments of gray and brown flint, and Gunter 

Bros., who furnished the sample, state that this is the kind of 

material from which water is obtained in the vicinity of Stuttgart. 

The material from a depth of 95 feet in a well owned by Ed Beity, 

8 miles northeast of Stuttgart, consists of chunks of drab, yellow, 

pink, and red clay, in part finely arenaceous, and one sandstone concretion. Gunter Bros., who furnished this sample also, state that 

similar clay generally lies between the surface and the water-bearing 

sand and gravel in the region od: Stuttgart. Information is meager 

regarding the oil-prospecting well drilled 2 miles southwest of Stuttgart (No. 31, pp. 156, 157), but the following partial log of it has 

been prepared from well borings furnished by Mr. E. J. Balle, of 

Stuttgart.
152 GEOLOGY A&D GROUND WAFERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS. 

Incomplete log of an oil-prospecting well near Stuttgart.

Thickness.

Feet. 

950

118

10

122

Depth.

Feet. 

950

1,068

1,078

1,200

The materials described are probably of Eocene or Upper Cretaceous age. Mr. G. W. Fagan, of Stuttgart, states that according to 

the driller, Mr. Schauman, the well was drilled to a depth of 1,200 

feet, where hard rock was struck; water-bearing beds were encountered at several levels one at 800 feet. The waters were cased off 

without testing their quantity or character.

Irrigation wells. Wells for irrigating rice lands have been drilled 

in the vicinity of Stuttgart, Almyra, Dewitt, Gillett, Booty, Arkansas Post, Bayou Meto, Tichnor, St. Charles, Crocketts Bluff, and 

Humphrey. Logs of the following have been obtained:

Log of well of C. E. Edmund, 6 miles southeast of Stuttgart. 

[No. 36, p. 158.]

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: 

SoU...................... ...........................................................

Gravel, water bearing ...............................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

3

47

55

25

15

Depth.

Feet. 

3

50

105

130

145

Log of well of Caspar G. Scheiderer, 1% miles southivest of Ulm 

County), in Arkansas County.

[No. 42, p. 158.]

(Prairie

Pleistocene alluvium:

Thickness.

Feet. 

60

6

14

30

Depth.

Feet. 

60

66

80

110
ARKANSAS COUNTY. 

[No. 1, p. 154.]

153

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: 

Soil.................................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

3.5

16

30

40

25

35.5

Depth.

Feet. 

3.5

19.5

49.5

89.5

114.5

150

Log of well of J. M. Satchfield, 4 miles south of Tichnor. 

[No. 35, p. 158.]

Pleistocene alluvium:

Thickness.

Feet. 

60

47

40

Depth.

Feet. 

60

107

147

Log of well of W. N. Carpenter, one-quarter mile west of Booty.

[No. 13, p. 154.]

Pleistocene alluvium: 

Clay.............. .................................................................

Sand................................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

60

10

93

Depth.

Feet. 

60

70

163
00 CD O l-» fcO 

w .9 

§o^§

||l^

°^2,§ e 

? ^g H 

fc.fc.fc.fc fc.fc.fc 

ta r> *'S r w *. Cn O> *. 

0 H H B B H 

& B & B & & 

^ $ g « S S 

Q O Q A Q Q 

I & e a ? ? 

CQ CQ 03 03 03 CQ 03 COCO 00 OQ OQ 

CO CO CO CO*. 00 

« 2 

u *5 

?-" !r" ITJ 3! >. &a> w-b-^r. 

Pjt- ^^JSMB^i J 

fs f^s^E^i 

11 III -Ml 

- » B-- g £,§ 

P ; sU? .* Pi 

K ^rt-.^ 1 f- Q !» 

^ «|B i&K | 

i i ^ i ? i§^ ^ §* ^ 

aS > 3 tn Fv : 

§ S 8 8 S i g : H- H- H- H- H- H- : 

CO 0 

O O 

o co toco oo o 

oat oat t+* 

£

2 g 

^ 

£* «4 

Uf U U U U U Ug&c§b 

pE p p p p p pBsBgp 

com- Date 

pleted.

Approximate^

above elevation 

level. sea 

Depth.

Diameter.

prin- to Depth 

water- cipal 

bed. bearing 

other to Depth 

bear- - water 

beds. ing 

Water-b forma
1

2 

3 

4 

5

6 

7 

8

9

10 

11

12

13 

14

Location.

Place.

Almyra, 2 miles 

northwest of.

Almyra, 2J miles 

southwest of. 

Almyra, 3 miles 

southeast of. 

Almyra, 4 miles west 

of. 

Almyra, 5 miles 

southeast of.

Almyra, 6 miles 

southeast of. 

Almyra, 4 miles east 

of. 

Almyra, 4 miles 

north of.

Arkansas Post 

(Spanish grant 

2307). 

Arkansas Post, 4 

miles north of. 

Bayou Meto, 1 J miles 

southeast of.

Booty, 2J miles west 

of.

Booty, one-fourth 

mile west of. 

Crocketts Bluff, 3 

miles south of.

T.

38.

48. 

48. 

38. 

48.

48. 

3S. 

38.

88. 

78.

58.

78.

88. 

38.

B.

4 W.

4 W. 

4 W. 

4W. 

3W.

3W. 

3 W. 

4W.

3 W. 

3W.

5W. 

3 W.

2W. 

2W.

Sec.

21,SE.J...

4 N J

1, SW.J... 

29,W.J... 

5,NE.J...

4,NE.J... 

32,SW.J.. 

3,E.J.....

21.SW.J..

 W

36,NE.J..

5,SE.J....

34,NW.J.

Character of principal water-bearing bed.

Sand and gravel... 

.....do.............

Sand and gravel... 

.....do.............

Coarse sand and 

gravel. 

Sand and gravel...

Sand.............. 

.....do.............

Coarse sand and

Sand and gravel... 

.....do . .........

.....do.............

Level ofwater below surface.

Feet. 

50

48 

47 

55 

52

50 

63 

50

25

26

31

28±

30 

45

Yield per minute.

Galls. 

1,600

1,035 

900 

1,100 

1,300

600+ 

1,700 

650

700

600 

1,800

1,500+

Method oflift.

Steam 

...do..

Gas... 

...do..

...do..

Steam 

Hand. 

Steam

...do.. 

...do..

...do.. 

Gas...

Cost ofwell.

$2,000

2,( 

600 

2,000 

2,6

500 

1,800 

1,200

50 

800

500 

1,9

1,250? 

1,600
Wells in Arkansas County Continu

15 

16

17 

18

19 

20

21 

22 

23 

24

25 

20 

27 

28

29 

30

Location.

Place.

De Witt, 6 miles northeast of. 

De Witt, one-fourth 

mile southeast of. 

De Witt, 6J miles east of

Gillett, 3J miles south of 

.....do.................

Gillett, 3J miles northeast of. 

Humphrey, If miles 

southeast of. 

Humphrey, 600 feet 

west of post office. 

Nady, 1 mile west of . ...

Nady, 1J miles east of 

(Spanish grant No. 

2425). 

Nady, 2J miles south of 

(Spanish grant No. 

2303). 

Nady, If miles south of 

(Spanish grant No. 

2303). 

St. Charles, 3J miles 

northwest of.

St. Charles, 5 miles 

southwest of.

.....do.................

T.

58.- 

48.

6S. 

38.

8S.

88.

4S.

R.

3 W.

2W.

3 W. 

6W.

2W.

2W.

2W.

Sec.

10, SE. i.. 

29,SW.i..

24,SW.J.. 

30,SE.i...

8. .........

26,NE.J..

Owner.

F. M. Mitchell.... 

W. N. Carpenter.. 

George Lacotts. . . . 

S. V. Wise. ....... 

Ulrich Bauer......

Lewis Sachs, 

Jonesboro. 

J. K. Anthony ....

M. M. Mitchell.. 

N. B. Menard.....

.....do............

W.H.Norsworthy 

& Co.

W.H.Norsworthy 

and W. Hargrave. 

Stuttgart Water & 

Electric Light Co. 

.....do............

Driller.

E Imer Smith, 

Stuttgart.

Elmer Smith, 

Stuttgart. 

A. F. Selig, Stuttgart. 

.....do.............

J. M. Satchfleld, 

Tichnor. 

Owner............

.....do............

J. M. Satchfleld, 

Tichnor.

United Well 

Works, Stuttgart. 

Layne & Bowler, 

Stuttgart.

Charles Williamson. 

3. W. Beckler...

Author

R. M. D

.....do.

.....do..

.....do.

Andrew 

H. Sach

.....do.

.....do.

.....do.

.....do.

.....do.

W. Harg

Sam Ha

.....do.

<* Elevation about 60 feet above low-water level of White River. 

6 Elevation about 50 feet above low-water level of La Grue River.

c Elevation a
15 

16

17 

18

19 

20

21 

22

23

24

25 

26

27 

28

29 

30

Location.

Place.

De Witt, 6 miles 

northeast of. 

De Witt, one-fourth 

mile southeast of.

De Witt, 6| miles 

east of. 

Gillett , 3J miles 

south of. 

.....do...............

Gillett, 3J miles 

northeast of. 

Humphrey, If miles 

southeast of. 

Humphrey, 600 feet 

west of post office. 

Nady, 1 mile west of. 

Nady, 1| miles east of 

(Spanish grant No. 

2425). 

Nady, 2J miles south 

of (Spanish grant 

No. 2303). 

Nady, 1J miles south 

of (Spanish grant 

No. 2303). 

St. Charles, 3J miles 

northwest of. 

St. Charles, 5 miles 

southwest of.

.....do..............

T.

58. 

48.

68.

38.

88.

88.

48.

R.

3 W. 

2W.

3 W. 

6W.

2W.

2W.

2W.

Sec. '

10,SE.i... 

29, SW. 1 .

24, SW.l . 

30, SE. J..

8..........

26, NE. ! 

Character of principal water-bearing bed.

Gravel and rock... 

Gravel ............

.....do............

Sand and gravel . . .

Coarse sand and 

gravel. 

Sand. .............

Gray sand ........ 

Sand..............

.....do............

Sand and gravel . . .

.....do............

Level ofwater below surface.

Feet. 

50

50

OR

32 

38

18 

8 

30

40 

12

12

65 

50

47

Yield per minute.

Galls. 

2,200

1,800

1,200 

1,500

1,000 

800

1,500 

1,200

75 

250

Method oflift.

Steam

Steam 

...do..

Steam

Hand. 

...do...

...do...

Steam. 

...do...

Air....

...do...

Cost ofwell,

12,2

2,3

1,5 

2,0

$500 

43 

25

M 

3,J

Co

!0

K)

30

)0

1

50 

00
Wells in Arkansas County Continue

31 

32 

33 

34 

35 

36 

37 

38 

39 

40 

41 

12

Location.

Place.

Stuttgart, 2 miles southwest of. 

Stuttgart, 3 miles south 

of. 

Stuttgart, 2 miles southwest of. 

Stuttgart, 1J miles west 

of. 

Stuttgart, 4 miles north 

of. 

Stuttgart, 6 miles southeast of. 

Stuttgart, 7J miles east 

of. 

Stuttgart, about 12 

miles southeast of. 

Tichnor, 4 miles south of

Tichnor . 2J miles southeast of. 

Tichnor, 1J miles southeast of. 

Ulm, 1J miles southwest of.

T.

38. 

38. 

3S. 

28. 

28. 

38. 

2S.

7S. 

7S.

2S.

B.

5W. 

5W. 

5W.

5W. 

5W. 

4W. 

4 W.

2W. 

2W.

4W.

Sec.

4,NE.J... 

5, NW. J.. 

30. ........

22,NE.J..

16,SW.J.. 

4, SE. J...

6, NE. J...

Owner.

Stuttgart Oil & 

Gas Co. 

J. P. Rich........

E. G. Beinsch..... 

G. W. Fagan...... 

Pettit & Pettit. . . .

Mrs. A. F. Duensing. 

J. M. Ellis........

J. M. Satchfleld... 

August Paulman. . 

Botts and Eckles. .

C. G. Scheiderer, 

Stuttgart.

Driller.

Mr. Schauman. . . .

Layne & Bowler, 

Stuttgart. 

.....do............

.....do............ 

.....do............ 

.....do............

.....do............ 

.....do............

William Cromwell, Stuttgart. 

Henry Luckett, 

Stuttgart. 

Beckler Well Co., 

Stuttgart. 

W. H. Wheeler, 

Devall Bluff.

Authori

G. W. Fa

.....do...

.....do..

Edwin P

H. E. D

sing.

.....do..

.....do..

G. W. Bo

a Elevation about 30 feet above low-water level of Ark
31

32 

33 

34

35 

36

37 

38

39 

40

41 

42

Location.

Place.

Stuttgart, 2 miles 

southwest of.

Stuttgart, 3 miles 

south of. 

Stuttgart, 2 miles 

southwest of. 

Stuttgart, 1J miles 

west of.

Stuttgart, 4 miles 

north of. 

Stuttgart, 6 miles 

southeast of

Stuttgart, 7J miles 

east of. 

Stuttgart, about 12 

miles southeast of.

Tichnor, 4 miles 

south of.

Tichnor, 2J miles 

southeast of.

Tichnor, li miles 

southeast of. 

Ulm, 1J miles southwest of.

T.

38.

38. 

3S.

28.

28. 

38.

28.

78. 

78.

28.

R.

5 W.

5W. 

5W. 

5 W.

5 W, 

4 W.

4W.

2W. 

2W.

4W.

Sec.

5..........

4,NE.J... 

5, NW. i.. 

30.........

4..........

5..........

22, NE. J..

16,SW.l..

4, SE. 1...

6,NE.J...

Character of principal water-bearing bed.

Sand and gravel...

Sand and gravel . . . 

Coarse gravel. .....

.....do............

.....do............

Sand and gravel . . . 

Sand. .............

Level ofwater below surface.

Feet.

35 

30

40 

45

40 

45?

34 

30

33

54

Yield per minute.

Galls.

1,550 

1,200 

1,500

1,000 

1,000

1,500 

1,200

2,000 

1,800

1,000 

210

Method oflift.

Steam. 

...do... 

...do..

...do...

Gas...

Steam. 

...do...

...do... 

...do...

Steam.

Cost ofwell.

$2,1 

1,500

1,600

2,2 

2,£

. 

1,900

1,500 

6J

f

00 

50 

00

00 

0
160 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

CLAY COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Clay County, in the extreme northeastern part of the State, comprises an area of 654 square miles. The census of 1910 reported its 

population as 23,690. Agriculture, including trucking, the raising 

of cotton and of cereals, and horticulture, including the growing of 

the common fruits, are the principal industries.

Except for a few square miles of the Ozark province included in 

its extreme northwestern section, the county comprises parts of the 

three topographic divisions Crowleys Kidge, the Advance lowland, 

and the Mississippi lowland into which the Mississippi embayment 

of the Gulf Coastal Plain is separable.

Crowleys Ridge is a broken, hilly area, 5 to 10 miles wide, extending from the northeastern corner of the county south westward to and 

beyond the county line. Its maximum elevation is about 550 feet 

above sea level, or 250 feet above the level of the Advance lowland 

to the west. The highest part of the ridge lies somewhat west of the 

center, the drainage being chiefly to the east into St. Francis River; 

along the divide and west of the divide the surface is characterized' 

by narrow ridges and steep slopes, many of which are wooded; west 

of the divide the drainage is into Cache River. To the east the hills 

are lower, their tops are broader, and their slopes more rounded, so 

that more extensive cultivation is possible here than in the more 

rugged area to the west.

The Advance lowland, which includes practically all the county 

west of Crowleys Riclge, is a nearly level plain 275 to 300 feet above 

sea level. Current River, in the northwest, which flows southward, 

Black River, which flows southwestward through the central part 

of the lowland, and Cache River which flows southwestward near the 

foot of Crowleys Ridge, traverse shallow, swampy, and wooded 

valleys several miles in width, lying only a few feet below the level 

of the plain. The interstream areas are characterized by low, parallel sand ridges and ancient abandoned stream channels.

That part of the county lying east of Crowleys Ridge is included 

in the Mississippi lowland and lies 275 to 300 feet above sea level. 

St. Francis River, which forms the eastern boundary, flows through a 

broad, shallow, partly wooded, and swampy valley known as the 

"sunk lands," lying only a few feet below the general level of the 

Mississippi lowland. The lowland plain slopes gradually upward 

from the river to the foot of Crowleys Ridge, a strip several miles 

wide just east of and bordering the ridge being a few feet higher 

and therefore better drained than the lowland to the east.
. CLAY COUNTY. 161 

GEOLOGY.

Paleozoic rocks of pre-Carboniferous age outcrop in an area a few 

miles square in the extreme northwestern section and lie buried beneath deposits of the Coastal Plain throughout the remainder of the 

county; their upper eroded surface inclines eastward, probably reaching a maximum depth of 1,000 feet or more in the extreme east.

Sands and clays of Eocene age belonging to the Wilcox formation 

form the body of Crowleys Kidge and outcrop in places on the sides 

and slopes of the hills. The sands are locally indurated to sandstones and quartzites; fossil leaves of Wilcox age have been found in 

a soft sandstone 3 or 4 miles southwest of Boydsville. (Sec p. 58.) 

The beds are lignitic in places, and southwest of Boydsville lignite 

is exposed near the base of the west slope of the ridge. In a well 

dug near the same place lignitic beds were encountered to a depth 

of 40 feet below the level of the plain to the west. It is reasonably 

certain that strata of Eocene age underlie the remainder of the 

county beneath the Pleistocene and Kecent alluvium, and that at an 

unknown depth the Eocene is underlain by strata of Cretaceous age. 

The deposits of the Coastal Plain rest on a basement of Paleozoic 

rocks.

The Eocene strata in Crowleys Kidge are unconformably overlain 

by a few feet to 30 feet or more of sands and gravels of late Pliocene (?) age belonging to the Lafayette formation. The gravels 

consist chiefly of partly rounded chert pebbles and cobbles, with 

subordinate amounts of smoothly rounded quartz pebbles, locally 

cemented by iron oxide to form hard conglomerates.

The light yellow or brown to dark-red noncalcareous loess and 

loesslike clay of Pleistocene age that overlie the gravels and cap 

the ridge have in places been eroded entirely away from above the 

gravels. Both the loess and the gravels have been in part reworked 

and redeposited on the sides of the hills or have found their way 

down the slopes by creep.

The Advance lowland west of Crowleys Kidge is underlain to a 

depth of 150 or 200 feet by alluvial sands, clays, and gravels, chiefly 

of Pleistocene age but in part of Kecent age. In general the coarser 

sands and gravels occur toward the basal portion and carry large 

quantities of water. The alluvium is believed to rest on a buried 

eroded surface of Tertiary strata.

The Mississippi lowland east of Crowleys Kidge is* underlain to a 

depth of 150 feet or more by alluvial sands, clays, and gravels, probably for the most part of Kecent age, but perhaps in part of Pleistocene age, which also carry large quantities of water.

11674° WSP 399 16 11
162 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

WATER RESOURCES. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

An abundant supply of water for domestic and industrial use if 

obtained throughout the county from wells ranging in depth from 

10 to 200 feet. In the lowlands the water is derived principally from 

the sands and gravels of the Pleistocene and Recent alluvium; in 

Crowleys Eidge the wells tap the water-bearing sands of the underlying Tertiary deposits. According to the reports of well owners 

the quality of the well waters varies considerably from place tc 

place, some being hard, some soft, and some ferruginous.

Small springs are numerous in Crowleys Ridge, and some of them 

are utilized for domestic supplies. They emerge from the gravel 

beds of the Lafayette formation or from the underlying Tertiary 

sands, and many of them yield waters made turbid or milky by fine 

suspended particles of clay.

In the eastern half of the county artesian water could probably be 

obtained from the deeply buried Tertiary and Cretaceous deposits' 

at an estimated maximum depth of 1,000 feet. Wells sunk in the 

Mississippi lowlands east of Crowleys Ridge will probably yield 

flowing water. LOCAL. STTPPIIES.

Source. None of the towns and villages of the county has a watersupply system, although three of them, according to the census of 

1910, have populations exceeding 1,000, as follows: Rector, 1,859; 

Corning, 1,439; and Piggott, 1,150. Water for domestic and industrial use is obtained chiefly from wells. (See table on p. 164.)

The strata penetrated by several wells are indicated as follows:

Logs of several wells furnishing local water supply. 

St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Ry. Co., Knobel.

[Authority, C. H. Winters, driller, Harrisburg, Ark.]

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: 

Clay...............................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

8

12

12

18

Depth.

Feet. 

8

21

3?

51

Caraway & Freidenburg, Piggott (No. 6, p. 164).

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium:

30

44

30

74

Patter & Co., Pigrgott (No. 7, p. 164).

Pleistocene alluvium:

Tough blue material with a mixture of shells and fossil wood, becoming a pinkish

30

65

3.5

30

95

98.5
CLAY COUNTY. 163

Well cffi GampbeH, Mo. The following record of a well at Campbell, Dunklin County, Mo., quoted from a report by Shepard,1 is of 

interest in connection with the deep-seated waters of Clay County:

At Campbell, Dunklin County, a well is located on the land of the Campbell 

Lumber Co. Depth, 960 feet; elevation above tide, about 310 feet; casing, 

4-inch, to 910 feet; temperature of water, 72° F.; flow, 16 gallons per minute; 

date of completion, September, 1902; drillers, Johnson & Fleming, Memphis, 

Tenn.; cost, $3,000. The principal source of water was found at 490 feet in 

sand, and another water-bearing horizon was found at 145 feet. The water 

is somewhat soft, though rather saline, and contains sulphureted hydrogen. 

The following log of this well was furnished by Mr. William B. Johnson, of 

Memphis, Tenn.:

Log of well of Campbell Lumber Co., Campbell, Dunklin County, Mo.

Loess? (112 feet):

Lafayette (43 feet): 

Orange sand and gravel; the sand has many white loamy clay nodules mixed in it ... 

Lagrange formation (785 feet): 

Very hard black and brown clay or marl, with numerous very hard strata from 1 to 

23 inches thick, composed largely of iron pyrites. At some point between 700 and 

750 feet a bed of logs 10 or 12 feet thick was penetrated. This clay differed from 

any other bed struck in the bottoms in containing no sand strata, and not even a

Ripley sands (20 feet): 

Very fine black sand, with a large percentage of mica in small grains. Water headed 

about 7 feet above surface and flowed 16 gallons per minute; had brackish taste... .

Thickness.

Feet. 

112

43

785

20

Depth.

Feet. 

112

155 

940

960

The water from this well is used for boiler and drinking purposes. It is 

probable that the bottom of the well is not far from bedrock.

The yellow clay correlated by the author questionably with the 

loess, and the sand and gravel correlated with the Lafayette, are 

probably Pleistocene alluvial deposits. The correlations indicated 

for the remainder of the section are not based on paleontologic 

evidence and can scarcely be considered conclusive. The section is 

important chiefly as showing the great thickness of clay at this place 

(785 feet) and the presence of a water-bearing sand beneath the clay.

Well water for irrigation. A well 5 miles east of Knobel (No. 3, 

p. 164) is used for irrigating 52 acres of rice land. This well penetrated the material shown by the following log:

Log of well of the Knobel Rice Co., 5 miles east of Knobel.

Pleistocene alluvium:

Thickness.

Feet. 

28

150

Depth.

Feet. 

28

178

1 Shepard, Edward M., Underground waters of Missouri: TJ. S. Geol, Survey WaterSupply Paper 195, pp. 174, 175, 1907.
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Owner.

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completed. Date 

eleva- Approximate 

level. sea above tion 

Depth.

Diameter.

principal to Depth 

bed. water-bearing 

other to Depth 

beds. water-bearing 

O 

o* c+ 2 

a

o

91 f Aooaoao QJSEV 
1

2

3

4 

5

6

7 

8

9

10 

11

12 

13

Location.

Place.

Knobel...... ........

Knobel, 5 miles east 

of. 

Piggott.. ............

.....do...............

.....do...............

.....do...............

Pollard, one-fourth 

mile west of. 

Pollard, 3 miles 

northwest of.

Pollard..............

Pollard, 3 miles 

northwest of.

Rector, one-half mile 

west of.

T.

20 N.

19 N. 

20 N.

20 N.

20 N. 

20 N.

21 N. 

21 N.

R.

8E.

5E.

8E.

8E.

8E. 

8E.

7E. 

7E.

Sec.

28.........

10,NW.J.. 

11.........

11.........

ll.SW.J.. 

10,SE.J...

14, NE. 1 

SE.J.

22.........

Character of principal water-bearing bed.

Sand. .............

Gravel............

Sand and gravel. . . 

.....do............

White sand. ......

.....do............ 

.....do............

Level ofwater below surface.

Feet. 

20

14 

35

20

12 

63

16

48

Yield per minute.

Galls. 

5 

23+

2,000

10 

10

........

9

Method oflift.

Hand.

Steam.

Hand. 

...do...

...do...

Hand.

...do... 

Flows.

1

"3

1 

o

$1,500 

35

25

70

20 

35

Com

$
166 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS. 

CRAIGHEAD COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Craighead County comprises an area of 687 square miles. At the 

time of the census of 1910 its population was 27,627. Lumbering and 

agriculture, including the raasing of cotton, cereals, vegetables, and 

hay are the chief industries. Fruits, such as peaches, apples, and 

pears are also grown. Jonesboro, the county seat, is a shipping point 

for hardwood timber.

The county includes parts of the three main topographic divisions Crowleys Ridge, the Advance lowland, and the Mississippi 

lowland into which the Mississippi embayment is divisible.

Crowleys Ridge, a belt of hilly, partly wooded country, extends 

north and south through the county a little west of the center, rising 

to a maximum elevation of 475 or 500 feet above sea level, or 200 to 250 

feet above the level of the lowlands to the east and west. From the 

northern boundary southward the ridge is 10 to 12 miles wide to 

a point 3 or 4 miles south of Jonesboro, where it narrows abruptly to 

a width ranging from one-half mile to 4 miles. A deep gap in the 

ridge in the vicinity of Dee is traversed by the Helena branch of the 

St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway. The ridge has been 

strongly dissected, chiefly by the headwater streams of Bayou De 

Vue, a tributary of Cache River. A few small streams flow eastward 

into the Hatchie Coon Sunk Lands. The larger streams flow through 

rather broad valleys with smoothly rounded slopes, and many t)f the 

smaller headwater streams occupy deep, steep-sided ravines, producing a rugged topography along the main divides.

The Advance lowland, a plain lying 250 to 260 feet above sea level 

and inclining slightly to the southward, includes all the county west 

of Crowleys Ridge; this lowland is characterized by'irregularly distributed patches of grass-covered, gently undulating prairie land 

and tracts of wooded land. The valley of Cache River, which crosses 

the western part of the county from northeast to southwest, is 8 to 10 

feet lower than the general level and is 1 to 4 miles wide. The valley of Bayou De Vue, which heads in Crowleys Ridge north of Jonesboro and flows across the plain from northeast to southwest, west of 

the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, is also broad and very shallow.

All the county east of Crowleys Ridge is included in the Mississippi lowland which is divisible into the post-oak flats, a narrow 

strip of slightly undulating land bordering Crowleys Ridge and 

lying 255 to 260 feet above sea level, and the " sunk lands," which lie 

10 to 15 feet lower and embrace the remainder of the county to the 

east. The " sunk lands" are gently undulating, the partly wooded, 

swampy depressions being separated by low ridges of dark sandy
CEAIGHEAD COUNTY. 167

loam dotted with the so-called sand blows of the region. The sand 

blows are low circular or irregular patches of clean white sand, 

supposed to have been discharged from, underground sources through 

crevices during the time of the New Madrid earthquake shocks 

(1811-12). The ridges have been partly cleared and cultivated.

GEOLOGY.

Irregularly bedded sands and clays belonging to the Wilcox formation of the Eocene make up the body of Crowleys Ridge to a 

maximum height of 100 feet or more above the level of the lowlands 

to the east and west. Along the western border of the ridge the 

sands have been locally indurated to hard quartzites. In Crowleys 

Ridge the Eocene deposits extend to an unknown depth, and are 

believed to underlie the alluvial deposits both to the east and west 

of the ridge, where they would be encountered at depths of 130 to 

150 feet; they contain important water-bearing beds.

From general considerations it is believed that the Eocene deposits are underlain by sands and clays of Cretaceous age, though 

no data for definitely differentiating the deeply buried deposits of 

these ages have been obtained within the county.

The Wilcox formation of Crowleys Ridge is unconformably overlain by irregularly bedded gravels and reddish sands reaching a maximum thickness of 50 feet or more; these materials cap the tops of 

the hills and mantle their slopes, almost completely covering the 

Wilcox strata; they are in part water bearing. These gravels and 

sands belong to the Lafayette formation and are of late Pliocene or 

early Pleistocene age. The Lafayette formation is overlain by material ranging in composition from typical loess to reddish loesslike 

clays and in thickness from a few feet to 40 feet; the loess is of Pleistocene age.

The advance lowland west of Crowleys Ridge is underlain by 130 

to 150 feet of alluvial sands, clays, and gravels of Pleistocene age, 

which rest upon Tertiary strata; the sands and gravels contain water 

in large quantities. The flood plains of Cache River and Bayou De 

Vue are underlain by Recent alluvial sands and clays of undetermined 

thickness which rest upon the Pleistocene alluvium. The Mississippi 

lowland east of Crowleys Ridge is underlain to an estimated depth 

of 130 to 200 feet by undifferentiated alluvial sands, clays, and gravels 

of Pleistocene and Recent age, which rest on Eocene strata and are 

abundantly water bearing.
168 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTEEN ARKANSAS, v

WATEK KESOURCES. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

Domestic supplies. Water for domestic and industrial use is obtained chiefly from wells 10 to 200 feet deep and from springs. In 

the lowlands east and west of Crowleys Ridge the waters are derived 

chiefly from the Pleistocene and Recent alluvial sands and gravels and 

stand in the wells 10 to 35 feet below the surface. In Crowleys Ridge 

the wells tap the water-bearing sands and gravels of the Lafayette 

formation and the water-bearing sands of the underlying Wilcox 

formation; the waters from the Wilcox formation rise within 25 to 

100 feet of the surface. Most of the well waters are soft, though a 

few are reported to be moderately hard. Wells exceeding 200 feet in 

depth have been drilled at Jonesboro and at Lake City (Nos. 10, 11, 

and 15, p. 172). Small springs are numerous in Crowleys Ridge and 

afford clear, soft, or only moderately hard waters; some are sulphurous or ferruginous.

In the lowlands west and east of Crowleys Ridge water in abundance is contained in the sands and gravels of the Pleistocene and 

Recent alluvial deposits at depths of 30 to 150 feet. In Crowleys 

Ridge moderate or large quantities of artesian water can be obtained 

from the Eocene deposits and from the deeply buried Cretaceous 

deposits by wells 70 to 1,500 feet or more in depth. In the lowlands 

artesian waters can be obtained from the same deposits by drilling 

through the overlying Recent or Pleistocene alluvium.

None of the wells in this county yield flowing water, but the fact 

that flows have been obtained in Mississippi County at Blythesville 

(depth, 1,448 feet), at Burdette (depth, 1,495.5 feet), and at Wilson 

(depth, 1,568 feet), and in Poinsett County at Marked Tree (depth, 

2,007 feet) justifies the prediction that flows are obtainable in Craighead County in the Mississippi lowlands east of Crowleys Ridge.

Irrigation. The rice-growing industry has been introduced in 

the county in recent years and on the Advance lowland west of 

Crowleys Ridge is rapidly becoming important. Rice has also been 

grown east of Crowleys Ridge near Nettleton. Water for irrigating 

the rice fields is obtained chiefly from wells 75 to 150 feet deep, the 

source being the Pleistocene alluvial sands and gravels underlying 

the lowlands. Heavy machinery is used for pumping the wells, the 

yield ranging from 400 to 1,600 gallons per minute. The wells are 

drilled and equipped at costs ranging from $1,000 to $1,500, the average cost based on six wells being in round numbers $1,400 for each 

1,000 gallons of yield per minute, or at the rate of $1.40 for each 

gallon of yield per minute. Detailed information concerning nine 

wells used for irrigating rice lands is given in the table on page 172.
CEAIGHEAD COUNTY. 169

LOCAL SUPPLIES.

Jonesboro. The municipal water supply of Jonesboro (population 7,123, census of 1910) is taken from deep wells. Information 

concerning the system has been obtained from Mr. Jeffrey A. Houghton, postmaster of Jonesboro; from the superintendent of the waterworks plant; and from Mr. Lee Stone, who drilled the two deepest 

wells. There are six wells, four of which are 300 to 500 feet deep, 

and two respectively 1,214 and 1,265 feet deep. One of the deepest 

wells is cased to a depth of 500 feet with 8-inch casing and the 

rest of the way with 6-inch casing; the other is cased to a depth of 

500 feet with 6-inch casing and the remainder of the depth with 4- 

inch casing; in these wells the water rises to within 60 feet of the 

surface.

The water is pumped from the wells to a standpipe, the base of 

which is 372 feet above sea level and 70 feet above the level of the 

St. Louis Southwestern Kailway track at the station. The water is 

distributed through nearly 15 miles of mains. The standpipe pressure is 72 pounds per square inch and the possible direct pressure for 

fire protection is 110 pounds per square inch. The daily capacity of 

the plant is 2,000,000 gallons.

An approximate log of one of the deep wells (No. 10, p. 172) is 

as follows:

Log of deep well at the city waterworks plant, Jonesboro.

Pleistocene:

Pliocene (?) (Lafayette formation):

Eocene and probably Cretaceous (undiflerentiated): 

Pipe clay.. ... .......................................................................

Very fine quicksand, grading downward to a coarse sand and gravel, the latter

Alternating layers of water-bearing sand and hard rock, the sand layers being about

Thickness.

Feet. 

20

4

10

1

25

10

60

50

1,020

4

61

Depth.

Feet. 

20

24

34

35

" 60

70

130

180

1,200

1,204

1,265

The log of a well owned by Mr. C. N. Carson, 4 miles south of 

Jonesboro, on the east side of Crowleys Kidge (No. 12, p. 172), is as 

follows:

Log of well of C. N. Carson, 4 miles south of Jonesboro.

Pleistocene (?): 

Red clay. ...........................................................................

Eocene (Wilcox formation):

Thickness.

Feet.

7

107

Depth.

Feet. 

7

114
170 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Nettleton. Detailed information concerning several wells at Nettleton (population 1,080, census of 1910) is given in the table on 

page 172 (Nos. 16, 17, 18). A log of the well owned by the St. 

Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway is as follows:

Log of well of St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway, Nettleton.

Pleistocene alluvium (?):

Yellowish, white, pink, and gray sand, gravel at bottom, water bearing throughout.

Thickness.

Feet . 

24

40

3

20

60

Depth.

Feet . 

24

64

67

87

147

Greensboro. The log of a well (No. 9, p. 172) owned by J. W. 

Johnson at Greensboro, a small village on Crowleys Ridge, 8 miles 

northeast of Jonesboro, is as follows:

Log of well of J. W. Johnson, Greensboro.

Soil and Pleistocene (a facies of loess): 

Soil and underlying loess. ...

Pliocene (?) (Lafayette formation): 

Gravel .............................

Tertiary (Eocene, Wilcox formation): 

Clay ("hardpan") .................................

Sand, reddish at top, becoming white toward base; water bearing hi basal portion. .

Thickness.

Feet. 

10

1

30

145

Depth.

Feet. 

10

11

41

186

Lake City. A 400-foot oil-prospecting well was drilled at Lake 

City in 1900 (?), concerning which the following information has 

been furnished by Mr. A. J. Bates: Sands and clays in alternating 

layers, with the sands predominating, were penetrated to the bottom 

of the well, with the exception of a bed of gravel encountered at a 

depth of 300 feet. An incomplete set of samples from the well was 

examined by the senior author. From the surface to a depth of 130 

feet the materials appear to be alluvial sands and clays. A sample 

from a depth of 160 feet is medium-grained white sand; one from 

a depth of 220 feet is hard white clay breaking with a conchoidal 

fracture; and one from a depth of 280 feet is black, shiny lignite. 

The strata from 160 feet to 400 feet probably belong to the Wilcox 

formation.

Wells for irrigation. Wells used for irrigating rice lands have 

been drilled in the vicinity of Bono, Gilkeson, Obear, and Nettleton; 

nine of them are described in detail in the table on pages 172-173. 

The logs of four of them are as follows:
CRAIGHEAD COUNTY. 171

Log of well of J. E. BobWtt, 1 mile north of Bono.

[No. 1, p. 172.]

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: 

Soil.............................................................. ..................

" Hardpan".. .................................... ....... ..........................

Gravel, water bearing. ..............................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

2 

18 

58

Depth.

Feet. 

2 

20 

78

Log of well of Burk & Cole, 2\ miles southwest of Oilkeson.

[No. 7, p. 172.]

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: 

Soil.................................................................................

" Hardpan".. .......................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

2.5 

18 

35 

10 

37.5

Depth.

Feet. 

2.5 

20.5 

55.5 

65.5 

103

Log of well of C. O. Collins, 7 miles southivest of Jonesboro (3 miles southeast

of Oilkeson).

[No. 13, p. 172.]

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: 

Soil.................................................................................

Soft friable clay .....................................................................

Sand, increasing in coarseness to a very coarse gravel at base, water bearing throughThickness.

Feet. 

2

20

10

5

76

Depth.

Feet. 

2

22

32

37

113

Log of well of the Gregg & Houghton Land Co.

[No. 22, p. 172.J

miles northwest of Obear.

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: 

Soil.................................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

2

18

15

67

Depth.

Feet. 

2

20

35

102
Wells in Craighead County.

1 

2 

3 

4 

5

6

7

8 

9

10 

11 

12

13

14 

15 

16

17

18

19

20

21 

22

Location.

Place.

Bono, 1 mile north of. . .

Bono. 5J miles northeast of. 

Bono, one-half mile 

northwest of.

Dee, one-fourth mile 

southeast of. 

Dee....................

Gilkeson, 24 miles 

southeast ofT 

Gilkeson, 3* miles 

southeast ofT

.....do.................

Jonesboro. 4 miles 

south of. 

Jonesboro, 7 miles 

southwest of. 

Jonesboro ..............

Lake City.. ............

.....do.................

Nettleton, one-fourth 

mile east of. 

Obear. one-fourth mile 

northwest of.

.....do.................

Obear, 3J miles northeast of.

T.

15 N.

15 N.

13 N.

13 N. 

13 N.

13 N.

14 N.

........

13 N.

R.

3E.

3E.

4E.

3E. 

3E.

3E.

4E.

........

3E.

Sec.

19, NE. \ 

ofNE.J.

19

20, NE. J..

8, SE.J...

18, NE. 1 

ofSW.J.

9, SE.J...

26.........

18,NE.J..

Owner.

J. E. Bobbitt.....

W. R. Schisler....

J. D. Stringer..... 

Town.............

Wm. Woodard. . . .

Burk & Cole, 

Jonesboro. 

Ellis & Peters, 

Jonesboro. 

J. W. Johnson....

.....do.............

C. N.Carson......

C. O.Collins...... 

Warner Hotel .....

St. Louis, Iron 

Mountain & 

Southern Ry. Co.

F. Kiech Mfg. Co .

J. L. Burns,Jonesboro.

.....do.............

Gregg & Houghton Land Co. , 

Jonesboro.

Driller.

Weiner Well Co., 

Weiner.

Weiner Well Co., 

Weiner. 

Stone Bros., Jonesboro. 

John Martin,Jonesboro.

George F o g 1 e , 

Jonesboro. 

.....do.............

John Martin,Jonesboro.

.....do.............

F. L. Casper, Weiner.

C. H. Winters, 

Harrisburg. 

Craighead County 

Well Co,, Jonesboro. 

F. L. Casper, Weiner.

George F o g 1 e , 

Jonesboro.

Authori

J. Q. Schi

J. W. H. C

G.C.Pete

.....do...

C.W. Kie

.....do...

C. B. Gre

o Elevation about 40 feet above the level of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & 
1

2 

3

4 

5

6

7

8

9 

10

11 

12

13

14 

15 

16 

17 

18

19 

20

21 

22

Location.

Place.

Bono, 1 mile north of.

Bono, 54 miles northeast or. 

Bono, one-half mile 

northwest of.

Dee, one-fourth mile 

southeast of. 

Dee.................

Gilkeson, 2J miles 

southeast of.

Gilkeson, 3J miles 

southeast of. - 

.....do. ...... .......

Jonesboro, 4 miles 

south of. 

Jonesboro, 7 miles 

southwest of.

Lake City. ..........

.-...do..............

Nettleton, one-fourth 

mile east of. 

Obear, one-fourth 

mile northwest of.

.....do..............

Obear, 3J miles 

northeast of.

T.

15 N.

15 N.

13 N.

13 N. 

13 N.

13 N.

14 N.

13 N.

R.

3E.

3E.

4E.

3E. 

3E.

3E.

4E.

3E.

Sec.

19, NE. t 

ofNE.t.

19.........

20, NE. J..

8, SE. J... 

18, NE. 1

 ofSW.|.

9, SE.J...

26.........

IS.NE.J..

Character of principal water-bearing bed.

Gravel............

Sand. .............

Sand and gravel... 

Sand..............

Coarse sand and 

gravel.

Sand and gravel...

Coarse sand and 

gravel.

Sand and gravel... 

.....do.............

Sand..............

»||

"SH -5

> 03 i£ p 

® te O 03

J ""

Feet. 

17

10

25

97

26 

27

36 

60(?)

60 

90

35

15 

30.5

30.5 

30

% . P.® 

£

® H 

?

Galls. 

400±

1,200

1,600 

1,200

800

500+ 

600

1,000

800

"o

|s

r

Steam. 

...do...

Gas...

Steam.

Steam.

CostofweU.

$1,5

1,0

1,3

1,000 

1,40

1,000 
174 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

CBITTENDEN COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Crittenden County, in the eastern part of the State, adjacent to the 

southwestern part of Tennessee, comprises an area of 582 square 

miles. The population was reported by the census of 1910 as 22,447. 

Lumbering and agriculture, including trucking and the raising of 

cotton and cereals, are the chief industries. Fruit is also grown. 

The county is heavily timbered and large sawmills are numerous.

The county is included in the Mississippi lowland, the general 

surface lying 200 to 236 feet above sea level. Mississippi Eiver 

forms the eastern boundary; the highest land lies immediately west 

of the river, from which there is a slight inclination to the west and 

southwest. PondSj abandoned stream channels, and bayous are 

numerous, and much of the surface is swampy and covered with 

forest. The area is subject in part to overflow from Mississippi 

Eiver. Some of the higher land has been cleared and cultivated. 

The drainage is chiefly to the southwest into St. Francis River.

GEOLOGY.

The surface materials throughout the county consist of Recent 

alluvial sands and clays deposited from the waters of Mississippi 

River. Data concerning the age of the materials below the Recent 

deposits are meager. It is possible that the Recent alluvium rests 

on alluvial sands, clays, and gravels of Pleistocene age, which in turn 

rest on an eroded surface of Tertiary (Eocene) strata. The depth to 

the Eocene strata has not been determined, but data afforded by several wells probably indicate that the Eocene lies 150 to 225 feet below 

the general surface.

The undifferentiated Eocene strata are believed to be about 1,00*0 

feet thick and they are underlain by strata of Cretaceous age. According to Ashley's interpretation 1 of the record of a well on Hen 

and Chicken Island, near Memphis, the Ripley formation of the 

Upper Cretaceous was first encountered at a depth of 1,135 feet (see 

section, p. 177), and clay representing the Selma chalk, also Upper 

Cretaceous, was reached at a depth of 1,589 feet, and had not been 

completely penetrated when drilling was discontinued at a depth 

of 1,793 feet. At an unknown depth, probably between 2,500 and 

3,000 feet, the Cretaceous deposits are believed to rest upon a basement of Paleozoic rocks.

1 Ashley, G. H., Recent drilling for oil and gas at Memphis, Tenn.: Preliminary report 

upon the oil and gas developments in Tennessee : Tennessee Geol. Survey, Appendix A, 

pp. 40-42, 1911.
CEITTENDEN COUNTY. 175

WATER RESOURCES. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

The domestic water supplies of this county are obtained chiefly 

from wells 10 to 100 feet deep, the strata drawn upon being the 

alluvial sands. The water in the wells stands 10 to 30 feet below 

the surface. As reported by the well owners, some of the waters are 

soft, some are hard, and some are ferruginous. Wells more than 100 

feet deep have been drilled at Earl and Turrell. Cisterns are in use 

at a few places in the county.

Water in great abundance is obtainable from the sands and gravels 

of the Recent and Pleistocene alluvial deposits to depths of 150 to 

225 feet. The Eocene deposits which underlie the alluvial materials 

to depths of 1,100 or 1,150 feet contain important water-bearing 

beds, the waters of which are under hydrostatic pressure and will 

rise within 5 to 15 feet of the surface or may even overflow at the 

surface; they will be found potable and suitable for domestic and 

most other ordinary purposes, but some of them are apt to be moderately hard or ferruginous. The Cretaceous deposits which underlie 

the Eocene strata also contain water-bearing beds and probably the 

waters are under sufficient hydrostatic pressure to overflow at the 

surface.

LOCAL SUPPLIES.

Earl. The town of Earl (population 1,542, census of 1910) owns 

a municipal water-supply system and obtains water from a 474-foot 

well (No. 1, p. 178). The water is lifted from the well by a pump, 

having a capacity of 17,000 gallons an hour, into a tank holding 

40,000 gallons. The tank pressure is 35 pounds per square inch, and 

the direct pressure for fire protection is 60 pounds per square inch. 

Three miles of mains distribute the water to the consumers. The 

daily consumption is 70,000 gallons for domestic use and 50,000 gallons for manufacturing. (See incomplete analysis No. 15, p. 302.)

Turrell. The following is the log of a deep well at Turrell owned 

by the Baker Lumber Co.1 (No. 5, p. 178):

Log of well of Baker Lumber Co., Turrell.

Quaternary alluvium (Pleistocene and Recent):

Tertiary (Eocene):

Gray sand like that at Memphis, containing lignite in large quantities ...............

Thickness.

Feet. 

16

166

658

24

Depth.

Feet. 

16

182

840

864

1 Shepard, E. M., Underground waters of Missouri: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply 

Paper 195, p. 187, 1907.
176 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Wells at and near Mem/phis, Tenn. Several deep wells have been 

drilled in areas adjacent to Crittenden County, at and near Memphis, 

Tenn.; the materials penetrated in them are essentially the same as 

would be encountered by deep drilling anywhere in Crittenden 

County. Logs of the two deepest wells reported are included here. 

Log of municipal well No. 109, Memphis.®

Thickness.

Feet. 

Yellow clay............................................................................. 27

Hard brown clay....................................................................... 10

Slightly soft brown clay................................................................. 8.4

Gravel and sand........................................................................ 4

Soft brown clay and sand............................................................... 14

Slightly hard brown clay............................................................... 12.5

Stifi blue clay........................................................................... 3

Soft blue 4.4

Stiff blue clay and sand................................................................. 2.6

Soft brown clay and sand............................................................... 1

Very hard brown clay.................................................................. 2

Very reddish clay....................................................................... 1.5

Hard blue clay.......................................................................... 15.5

Soft blue clay........................................................................... 15.1

Stiff blue 1

Soft brown clay......................................................................... 4

Slightly hard brown clay............................................................... 1.3

Stiff brown clay........................................................................ 1

Hard brown clay....................................................................... 1

Very hard brown clay.................................................................. 5.7

Hard brown clay....................................................................... 61

Slightly hard blue clay.................................................................. 18

Hard blue clay.......................................................................... 9

Sandy blue clay........................................................................ 53

Fine sand and clay..................................................................... 27

Fine sand............................................................................... 35.4

Fine sand and lumps of blue clay....................................................... 41.6

Coarse sand and lumps of blue clay..................................................... 10

Soft blue clay........................................................................... 17

Sandy blue clay........................................................................ 10

Fine sand and clay..................................................................... 15

Sandy blue clay........................................................................ 13

Fine sand and clay..................................................................... 7

Sandy blue clay........................................................................ 22

Fine sand............................................................................... 2.6

Sandy blue clay........................................................................ 6.6

Fine sand................................................../............................ .8

Coarse sand and clay.................................................................... 6

Soft blue clay........................................................................... 2.3

Clay and sand.......................................................................... 17.7

Very fine sand.......................................................................... 25

Very fine sand and clay................................................................. 38.2

Very fine sand.......................................................................... 16.8

Very coarse sand with lignite........................................................... 8

Lignite, pyrite, and clay................................................................ 2

Very fine sand and lignite............................................................... 195

Soft white clay.......................................................................... 17

Very fine sand.......................................................................... 53

Hard brown clay....................................................................... 31

Fine white sand........................................................................ 30

Hard brown clay....................................................................... 24

Fine sand............................................................................... 50

Stiff brown clay........................................................................ 25.6

Very hard, substantial rock............................................................. .5

Very stiff blue clay..................................................................... 27.9

Blue clay, slightly sandy................................................................ 106

Shale................................................................................... .5

Sandy clay............................................................................. 3.5

Gravel.................................................................................. 6

Blue clay and sand..................................................................... 26

Sand and rock.......................................................................... 7

Sand and blue clay..................................................................... 6

Sand and clay and rock................................................................. 23

Fine sand and clay..................................................................... 8

Blue clay and sand..................................................................... 46

Sand and clay.......................................................................... 79

Fine sand............................................................................... 35

White sand (water flowed to surface)................................................... 4

White sand............................................................................. 38

aGlenn, L. C., U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 164,pp. 114,115,1906. (Gives a partial log of

the well to a depth of 1,147.5 feet.) Munn, M. J., Resources of Tennessee, vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 55-57, Tennessee Geol. Survey, Feb., 1912. (Gives a complete log of the well to a depth of 1,583 feet.)
CEITTENDElir COUNTY. 177

Log of municipal well No. 109, Memphis Continued.

Thickness. Depth.

Blue clay..........

Good sand.........

Black sand........

Blue clay and sand. 

Clay...............

Fine gray sand.....

Feet. 

95 

20

6

3 

16

1

Feet. 

1,537 

1,557 

1,563 

1,566

1.582

1.583

Log of Memphis Natural Gas & Oil Co.'s oil-prospecting well No. 1, on Hen and

Chicken Island.0

Thick- Depth.

Feet. Feet.

Gray sand............................................................................... 35 35

Clay.................................................................................... 3 38

Gas sand................................................................................ 20 58

Blue gumbo............................................................................. 4 62

Fine gray sand.......................................................................... 43 105

Fine gravel.............................................................................. 4 109

Coarse gravel............................................................................ 12 121

White sand............................................................................. 4 125

Clay and lignite......................................................................... 130 255

Gray water-bearing sand and lignite..................................................... 221 476

Blue clay (chunks)...................................................................... 70 546

Gray sand and lignite................................................................... 154 700

Gray coarse water sand.................................................................. 45 745

Gray sand and lignite................................................................... 225 970

Blue clay............................................................................... 155 1,125

Brown sand (good showing of oil)....................................................... 10 1,135

Black gas sand (gas and oil showing)..................................................... 12 1,147

Cemented rock and gravel............................................................... 1 1,148

Gas sand................................................................................ 24 1,172

Blue rock............................................................................... 3 1,175

Green clay.............................................................................. 2 1,177

Brown clay............................................................................. 7 1,184

Lignite.................................................................................. 5 1,189

Blue clay............................................................................... 33 1,222

Fine sand............................................................................... 10 1,232

Green clay.............................................................................. 23 1,255

Hard clay............................................................................... 45 1,300

Fine sand............................................................................... 4 1,304

Gumbo................................................................................. 20 1,324

Fine sand............................................................................... 27 1,351

Gumbo................................................................................. g 1,359

Artesian sand........................................................................... 230 1,589

Clay.................................................................................... 86 1,675

Fine sand............................................................................... 9 i 684

Clay... .............................................................................. 16 1,700

Blue rock............................................................................... 5 1,705

Finesand........................................................................ . 3 i 708

Clay.................................................................................... 38 1,746

Fine sand............................................................................... 17 i 763

Clay.................................................................................... s 1,771

Finesand............................................................................... 9 1,730

Gumbo, strong showing of oil; stopsonrock............................................. 14 1,794

" Ashley, G. EL, Recent drilling for oil and gas at Memphis: Preliminary report upon 

the oil and gas developments in Tennessee, Appendix A, pp. 40-42, Tennessee Geol. Survey,

It/11,

Ashley says:

Well No. 1 passed through 155 feet of blue clay between 980 feet and 1,135 

feet. Apparently this is the Porters Creek clay [basal Eocene]; then comes 

sand, clay, and lignite, the sand predominating, to 1,589 feet, or for a thickness 

of 454 feet. As clays predominate below, and as this is about the thickness 

of the Ripley formation [Upper Cretaceous], it may be assumed to represent 

that formation; below would come the Selma clay [Upper Cretaceous], and as 

that formation has a thickness of 300 to 400 feet to the east, it would appear 

that the well stopped in that formation. The Selma clay is a light leaden gray 

or greenish clay when dry, and somewhat darker when wet. It will be noted 

that of the 204 feet of strata at the bottom of the well below 1,589 feet all but 

43 feet are clay.

11674° WSP 399 16 12
Wells in Crittenden County.

1

2

3 

4 

5

I 

2

3

4

5

Location.

Place.

Earl......................

Ebony, one-eighth mile 

north of. 

Gilmore, 21 miles west of. .

T.

7N. 

9N.

9N.

R.

8E. 

7E.

8E.

Sec.

21, SE.£.. 

3..........

29.........

Location.

Place.

Ebony, one-eighth 

mile north of.

Gilmore, 2J miles 

west of.

Turrell. .............

T.

7N. 

9N.

9N.

R.

8E. 

7E.

8E.

Sec.

21,SE.i... 

3..........

29.........

Owner.

Town

The Ebony Co.... 

W.A.Dudley.....

Baker Lumber Co.

Character of 

principal waterbearing bed.

Coa

Sand... ...........

Gra

Level ofwater below surface.

Feet. 

20

1?,

Driller.

Johnson & Fleming, Memphis, 

Tenn. 

Owner............

....do............

Johnson & Fleming, Memphis, 

Tenn.

Yield per minute.

Galls.

70+

Method oflift.

Gas... 

Hand.

Aut

Sam

H.D

Own 

d

Bo

. D

*r

r> W.B.Jo

Cost ofwell.

$20 

15

*

o

Sheoard, E. M., Underground waters of Missouri: U. S. Geol. Survey Wat
GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS. 179 

CROSS COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Cross County lies west of Crittenden County and north of St. 

Francis County. Its area is 619 square miles. Its population at the 

^ime of the census of 1910 was 14,042. Lumbering, agriculture, fruit 

growing, and stock raising are important industries. At Wynne, 

the county seat, there are several sawmills and mills which manufacture wood products.

The county includes parts of three recognizable physiographic subdivisions Crowleys Ridge, the Advance lowland, and the Mississippi 

'owland.

Crowleys Ridge is a belt of hilly, partly wooded land, 3 to 6 miles 

"vide, extending north and south through the center of the county 

and rising 350 to 380 feet above sea level, or 120 to 150 feet above 

^he lowlands to the east and west. Small intermittent and perennial 

streams flow at right angles to the trend of the ridge and discharge 

into St. Francis River or St. Francis Bayou on the east and into 

L'Anguille River on the west. ' The surface has been considerably 

dissected by these streams. The eastern slope is somewhat more 

abrupt than the western slope, but both margins of the ridge are 

separated from the bordering lowlands by sharply defined escarpments.

The Advance lowland includes the area west of Crowleys Ridge, a 

nearly level plain lying 230 to 245 feet above sea level and sloping 

^lightly to the south. It is drained chiefly by L'Anguille River (flowing 

southward) and its tributaries, which occupy shallow valleys that 

ire only a few feet lower than the general level, are in part swampy, 

and are heavily timbered except where locally cleared for cultivation. In the interstream areas west of L'Anguille River the surface 

;s gently rolling and presents irregularly distributed tracts of open 

^rass-covered prairie, separated by slightly lower wooded areas. 

East of L'Anguille River the surface slopes gradually upward from

*he river bank to the foot of Crowleys Ridge; here the land is 

^ore fertile than the land west of the river and is forested, except 

There locally cleared for cultivation. 

The Mississippi lowland east of Crowleys Ridge is within the flood

->lain of St. Francis River and is 220 to 235 feet above sea level. 

3t. Francis River enters the county at the northeast corner and flows 

sinuously across it in a general southwesterly direction. Bayou St. 

Francis enters the county in the north, flows southward near the 

foot of Crowleys Ridge, and joins St. Francis River near Levesque. 

The surface of the lowland is diversified by numerous ponds and 

abandoned stream channels, separated by wooded areas of low swamp 

'and and low ridges.
180 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

GEOLOGY.

The core of Crowleys Eidge to a height of 50 to 100 feet above 

the lowlands to the east and west is composed of regularly and irregularly bedded fine sands and clays of Eocene age, belonging mainly 

to the Claiborne formation. The clays are light to dark in color 

and in places -are lignitic. Well-preserved fossil leaves of Claiborne 

age have been found in clays and nodules of iron carbonate in an 

exposure near Cherry Valley. (See p. 69.) The Eocene deposits 

underlie Crowleys Eidge to an undetermined depth, estimated to be 

at least 1,000 feet; they also underlie the alluvial deposits in the lowlands, both to the east and west of the ridge; they contain important 

water-bearing beds.

The Eocene deposits are underlain by strata of Cretaceous age, 

doubtless in part water bearing, which at an unknown depth rest 

upon a basement of Paleozoic rocks. The Eocene strata in Crowleys 

Eidge are unconformably overlain by 10 to 40 feet of irregularly 

bedded sands and gravels of late Pliocene or early Pleistocene age 

belonging to the Lafayette formation; they are in part water bearing. 

Locally the gravels have been indurated to a conglomerate. The 

gravels and sands are overlain by 20 to 60 feet of yellowish, reddish, 

and brownish massive loess, in part calcareous, which forms the 

capping material of Crowleys Eidge.

The gravels, sands, and loess extend down over the slopes of the 

ridge, and doubtless they have been reworked in part from their original position, or have found their way downward by creep or landslides.

The Advance lowland west of Crowleys Eidge is underlain by 140 

to 160 feet of alluvial gravels, sands, clays, and loams of Pleistocene 

age, unconformably overlying Eocene strata. In general the materials grade downward from fine clays and loams to coarse waterbearing sands and gravels at the base. The flood plains of L'Anguille 

Eiver and its tributaries are underlain by Eecent alluvial sands, clays, 

and loams of undetermined thickness. The Mississippi lowland east 

of Crowleys Eidge is underlain by 150 to 225 feet of undifferentiated 

Eecent and Pleistocene loams, clays, sands, and gravels which rest 

unconformably upon Eocene strata. The sands and gravels carry 

large quantities of water.

WATER RESOURCES. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

Domestic supplies. Water for domestic and industrial uses is obtained chiefly from wells 10 to 200 feet deep, and from springs. IF 

the lowlands the sands and gravels of the alluvial deposits form the 

principal source of the waters; the static head of the wells is 10 to 3£ 

feet below the surface. In Crowleys Eidge the sands and gravels of 

the Lafayette formation and beds of sand in the underlying Eocene
CROSS COUNTY. 181

deposits yield waters which here rise within 30 to 100 feet of the surface. Wells exceeding 200 feet in depth have been drilled at Wynne, 

at Parkin, and 5 miles east of Cherry Valley. As reported by the 

well owners, some of the well waters are soft, some are hard, and 

some are ferruginous. With perhaps a few exceptions they are 

potable and are suitable for most ordinary purposes. Numerous small 

springs in Crowleys Ridge yield soft moderately mineralized waters.

The Pleistocene alluvial deposits, which underlie the Advance lowland west of Crowleys Eidge to depths of 140 to 160 feet, and the undifferentiated Pleistocene and Recent alluvial deposits, which underlie the Mississippi lowland east of the ridge to depths of 150 to 225 

feet, contain in their sandy and gravelly layers great quantities of 

water suitable for domestic and industrial supplies and for irrigation. 

The Tertiary strata which underlie Crowleys Eidge and upon which 

rest the alluvial deposits east and west of the ridge contain important 

water-bearing beds that may be reached by wells at estimated depths 

of 1,000 to 1,200 feet below the lowland levels. These are underlain 

to unknown depths by deposits of Cretaceous age which also contain 

water-bearing beds.

There are no flowing wells in the county. In the two deep wells at 

Parkin (480 and 597 feet, respectively), the water rises within 10 to 

12 feet of the surface and a well 2,007 feet deep at Marked Tree, 

Poinsett County, overflows at the surface, facts which seem to show 

that flows could be obtained in this county in the Mississippi lowland 

east of Crowleys Eidge at depths of 1,800 to 2,500 feet.

Irrigation. The rice-growing industry has been introduced into 

the county and in the flat lands west of Crowleys Eidge is rapidly 

becoming important. Water for irrigation is obtained chiefly from 

wells 65 to 170 feet deep which tap the water-bearing alluvial sands 

and gravels underlying the Advance lowland, and yield from 500 to 

2,000 gallons per minute. The cost of drilling and equipping the 

wells ranges from $550 to $1,200 per well, the average cost for five 

wells being $1,100 for each 1,000 gallons of yield per minute, or at 

the rate of $1.10 for each gallon of yield. Six irrigation wells are 

described in the table on. page 184.

LOCAL SUPPLIES.

Wynne. The town of Wynne (population 2,853, census of 1910) 

owns a municipal water-supply system and obtains water from two 

125-foot wells (Nos. 17, 18, p. 184). C. M. Grain, mayor, has furnished the following information in regard to the wells and plant: 

The water is pumped from the wells to a standpipe having a capacity 

of 75,000 gallons and furnishing a standpipe pressure of 75 pounds 

per square inch. The water is distributed to the consumers through 

4 miles of mains, the daily consumption for domestic purposes being 

approximately 65,000 gallons.
182 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

One well at Wynne has been sunk to a depth of 360 feet. The 

name of the owner and other details have not been obtained, but a 

citizen has furnished the following log which, since it is given from 

memory, must be understood as only approximately correct:

Log of well at Wynne.

Pleistocene (a facies of loess):

Tertiary (Eocene):

Red " buckshot" clay. ..............................................................

Red, blue, and white sand, very fine on top and becoming coarse below; water bearFine white sand ....................................................................

Black and white sand, water bearing; water hard, but scales boilers less than that

Coarse white sand with a layer of gravel within 5 feet of top, water bearing; water 

of better quality for drinking and for boiler-supply purposes than that from layers 

3 and 5............................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

40

15

9

25

25

20

30

196

Depth.

Feet. 

40

5S

64

89

114

134

16*

360

The Wynne Brick Co. owns a well 250 feet deep (No. 19, p. 184) 

and the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Eailway Co. owns a 

well 186 feet deep (No. 16, p. 184).

Parkin. Two deep wells, the deepest in the county, have been 

drilled at Parkin. One, owned by the Northern Ohio Cooperage & 

Lumber Co., is 597 feet deep (No. 10, p. 184), the log of which is a^ 

follows:

Log of well of the Northern Ohio Cooperage & Lumber Co., Parkin.

Quaternary alluvium:

Tertiary (Eocene probably in part Claiborne and in part Wilcox) : Clay................................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

80

100

40

375

2

Depth.

Feet. 

80

180

220

59P

597

The other well, owned by the Lansing Wheelbarrow Co., is 480 

feet deep (well 9, p. 184).

Varmdale. A 167-foot well at Vanndale is owned by the York 

Lumber Co. (No. 13, p. 184). The following log has been furnished 

by Mr. Wiley, of the firm of Layne & Bowler, drillers, Stuttgart, 

Ark., through Mr. E. G. Norton, of Brinkley, Ark.:

Log of well of the York Lumber Co., Vanndale.

[Pleistocene alluvium]: 

Clay. ...............................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

65

52

12

38

Depth.

Feet. 

65

117

12f

167
CKOSS

Five miles east of Cherry Valley. A well located near the east 

foot of Crowleys Ridge, owned by Mr. Smith, is 230 feet deep. The 

owner has furnished the following log from memory:

Log of well owned by Mr. Smith, 5 miles east of Cherry Valley.

[No. 3, p. 184.]

[Quaternary (alluvium.)]:

[Tertiary (Eocene)]:

Thickness.

Feet. 

1.5

15

213.5

Depth.

Feet. 

1.5

16.5

230

Fairoaks. A well at Fairoaks, 82 feet deep, is owned by the St. 

Louis Southwestern Railway Co. (No. 4, p. 184). The log is as 

follows:

Log of well of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway Co., Fairoaks.

Pleistocene alluvium: 

White earth.. .......................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

3

9

70

Depth.

Feet. 

3

12

82

Wells for irrigation. Wells for irrigating rice lands have been

drilled in the vicinity of Cherry Valley, Fairoaks, Hickory Ridge,

Hydrick, Tilton, and Vanndale; six of the wells are described in

detail in the table on page 184. Logs of three of them are as follows:

Log of well of T. A. Norviel, 2.5 miles east of Fairoaks.

[No. 5, p. 184.]

Pleistocene alluvium: 

Clay................................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

14

26

25

Depth.

Feet. 

14

40

65

Log of well owned by W. F. Clements, near Hydrick.

[No. 7, p. 184.]

Pleistocene alluvium:

Thickness.

Feet. 

40

35

Depth.

Feet. 

40

75

Log of well owned by Miller <£ Son, 4 miles northeast of Tilton.

[No. 11, p. 184.]

Pleistocene alluvium:

Thickness.

Feet. 

23

30

27

Depth.

Feet. 

23

53

80
Wells in Cross County.

1

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7

S 

9

10

11 

12 

13

14 

15 

16

17

18 

19

Location.

Place.

Cherry Valley, one-half 

mile north of. 

Cherry Valley, 5 miles 

east of.

Fairoaks, 24 miles east 

of. 

Hickory Ridge, 3 J miles 

southeast of.

.....do.................

Parkin, one-fourth mile 

south of. 

Parkin, one-fourth mile 

north of.

Tilton, 4 miles northeast of. 

Tilton, 3£ miles southeast of. 

Vanndale, 2 miles southwest of. 

Vanndale, 7 miles west 

of.

.....do.................

.....do.................

.....do.................

.....do.................

T.

9N.

9N. 

9N.

9N.

7N.

7N.

8N.

8N.

8N.

R.

3E.

IE. 

3E.

3E.

5E.

5E.

IE. 

IE.

2E.

Sec.

15, NW. I 

ofNE.J.

36, NW. 1. 

2,NW. 1..

2, NW. J.. 

3,NW. |..

3,E.J....

11, SB. 1.. 

22,SE.J..

2, SW. \. .

Owner.

St. LouiSj Iron 

Mountain & 

Southern Ry. Co. 

J.O.Halk.. ......

Mr. Smith........

St. Louis Southwestern Ry. Co.

T A Vnrvfol

Love Banks, 

Smithdale.

Lansing Wheelbarrow Co. 

Northern Ohio 

Cooperage & 

Lumber Co. 

Miller & Son......

B.V.Rogers...... 

York Lumber Co.. 

J. W. Blue........

St. Louis, Iron 

Mountain & 

Southern Ry. Co.

.....do............

Driller.

J. M. Stacey......

Homer Shults, 

Pine Bluff. 

F. A. Schairman, 

Jonesboro. 

J. E. Gidrey, 

Ravne. La. 

S.J. Hodges, Harrisburg.

W. G. Lanham, 

Memphis, Term.

Owner ............

Layne & Bowler, 

Stuttgart.

Author

J.R.Step

chief 

neer. 

Owner ..

.....do..

Driller.

.....do.

.....do.

.....do.

D.S.Wa

S.W. Ste

E.M. Mi

E. G.No

Brinkl

Owner ..

J.R.Step

chief 

neer.

.....do.

a Elevation about 35 feet above low-water level of L'Anguille River. 6 Elevation a
1

2 

3 

4

5 

6

7 

8 

9

10 

11 

12

13 

14

15 

16

17

18 

19

Location.

Place.

Cherry Valley, onehalf mile north of. 

Cherry Valley, 5 

miles east of.

Fairoaks, 2£ miles 

east of. 

Hickory Ridge, 34 

miles southeast of.

Parkin, one-fourth 

mile south of. 

Parkin, one-fourth 

mile north of. 

Tilton, 4 miles northeast of. 

Tilton, ^ miles 

southeast of.

Vanndale, 2 miles 

southwest of. 

Vanndale, 7 miles 

west of.

.....do...............

.....do...............

.....do...............

T.

9N.

9N.

9N. 

9N.

7N.

7N. 

8N. 

8N.

8N.

R.

3E.

IE.

3E. 

3E.

5E.

5E. 

IE. 

IE.

2E.

Sec.

15, NW. 1 

ofNE.f.

36, NW. i. 

2,NW. 1..

2,NW. i.. 

3,NW.|..

3,E.J....

11, SE.I..

22, SE. J..

2, SW. 1- .

Character of principal water-bearing bed.

.....do............

Sand and gravel...

Coarse sand and 

gravel.

Sand. .............

.....do............

Sand and gravel. . .

Gravel and sand . . 

.....do............

Level ofwater below surface.

Feet.

30

21

18 

26

60 

10

12

31*

30

90 

90

100

Yield per minute.

Gallons.

300

500 

1,500

10

200 

500 

1,200

2,000

........

Method oflift.

Hand.

Steam.

Steam .

Hand.

...do..

Steam.

Steam.

Steam. 

...do..

Cost ofwell.

$20

M

1,050

3 

10

400 

500

1,000

0
186 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

GEEENE COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Greene County lies immediately south of Clay County, in the northeastern part of the State. The area of the county is 561 square miles, 

and the population was reported by the census of 1910 as 23,852. 

Agriculture and lumbering are the chief industries, and stock raising 

is growing in importance. At Paragould, the county seat, are several 

sawmills and mills manufacturing wood products.

The county includes parts of Crowleys Kidge, the Advance lowland, and the Mississippi lowland, the three main topographic divisions recognizable in the Mississippi embayment.

Crowleys Eidge forms a belt of hilly, partly cultivated and partly 

wooded land, 8 to 12 miles wide, extending northeast and southwest 

through the center of the county, attaining a maximum elevation of 

500 to 525 feet above sea level, or 200 to 250 feet above the lowlands 

to the east and west. The ridge is drained by numerous small perennial and intermittent streams which flow either eastward into the 

Hatchie Coon Sunk Lands or westward into Cache River. The surface has been strongly dissected by these streams, the main ones 

flowing through rather broad valleys with smoothly rounded slopes; 

many of the small headwater branches occupy narrow, steep-sided 

gorges. The main divide of the ridge is a little west of the center 

and the western slope is in general more rugged than the eastern.

The county west of Crowleys Eidge is included within the Advance lowland, a gently undulating plain lying 260 to 275 feet above 

sea level and inclining slightly to the south. Cache Eiver flows 

southwestward in the northwestern part of the county, south of 

which it forms the western boundary for about 15 miles; the river 

valley, which is 3 to 5 miles wide and is 8 or 10 feet lower than the 

general level, is in part swampy and is largely covered with a growth 

of timber. The interstream areas belong chiefly to the post-oak flat 

type and are poorly drained. In the northwest, between Cache Eiver 

and the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Eailway, the otherwise nearly level surface is broken by Jones Eidge, a ridge 3 or 4 

miles long, one-quarter to one-half mile wide, and 30 to 40 feet high, 

which trends northeast-southwest. Between Cache Eiver and the 

foot of Crowleys Eidge the soil is more fertile than west of the river 

because of the loams brought down from Crowleys Eidge and deposited on the plain.

All the county east of Crowleys Eidge is included in the Mississippi 

lowland; immediately east of and bordering the ridge is a belt of postoak flats, several miles wide, lying 270 to 275 feet above sea level, 

and crossed by the numerous shallow valleys of the small streams
GEEENE COUNTY. 187

from Crowleys Ridge. East of these flats is the "sunk lands" of 

St. Francis River bottom, a swampy, timber-covered tract several feet 

lower than the post-oak flats, interspersed with low ridges of sandy 

loam trending northeast and southwest; the ridges, which have been 

partly cleared for cultivation, are dotted with the so-called sand 

blows of the region, which consist of irregularly distributed small 

patches of clean white sand believed to have been ejected from fissures at the time of the New Madrid earthquake in 1811-12. The 

" Hatchie Coon Sunk Lands" form the eastern boundary of the 

county.

GEOLOGY.

The core of Crowleys Ridge to a height of 75 to 100 feet or more 

is composed of irregularly bedded sands and clays belonging to the 

Wilcox formation (Eocene). The sands have been locally indurated 

to sandstones of all grades of hardness from soft, friable rocks to 

hard quartzites, which outcrop at numerous places along the western 

slope of the ridge; fossil leaves of Wilcox age have been collected 

from soft sandstone near Hardys Mill, about 4 miles west of Gainesville. (See p. 59.) Lignite has been encountered in wells drilled 

at numerous places on the ridge. Eocene strata underlie Crowleys 

Ridge to a depth estimated to be not less than 400 or 500 feet, and 

are also present beneath the alluvial deposits both to the east and 

west of the ridge, where their upper surface lies at depths of 150 to 

200 feet; they contain important water-bearing beds. The Eocene 

strata are believed to be underlain by strata of Cretaceous age, doubtless in part water bearing, which at an undetermined depth, probably not exceeding 1,200 feet, rest on a basement of Paleozoic rocks.

The Eocene strata in Crowleys Ridge are overlain unconformably 

by a few feet to 50 feet of gravels and reddish sands belonging to 

the Lafayette formation (Pliocene?); these are in part water bearing. The gravels are locally indurated to conglomerates. The 

Lafayette formation is overlain by 10 to 30 feet or more of loess 

presenting various facies of reddish and yellowish argillaceous loam 

and sandy clay. In places on the crest of the ridge the loess has been 

completely removed from above the gravels by erosion. Both the 

loess and gravels extend down over the slopes of the ridge, probably 

in part reworked and in part as creep materials, almost completely 

concealing the Eocene strata.

The Advance lowland west of Crowleys Ridge is underlain to an 

estimated depth of 150 to 175 feet by alluvial gravels, sands, clays, 

and loams, for the most part of Pleistocene age but in part of Recent 

age, which rest upon Eocene strata. The Recent alluvium underlies 

the bottom lands of Cache River to an undetermined depth and the 

Pleistocene alluvium outcrops in the interstream areas. In general,
188 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

the Pleistocene deposits grade downward from fine clays and silts 

at the surface through fine sands to coarse sands and gravels at the 

base, which are abundantly water bearing. The Mississippi lowland 

is underlain to an estimated depth of 150 to 200 feet by alluvial 

loams, clays, sands, and gravels of undifferentiated Pleistocene and 

Recent age. The coarser materials carry water in large quantities.

WATER RESOURCES. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

Domestic water supplies are obtained chiefly from wells 10 to 130 

feet deep. In Crowleys Eidge the wells tap the water-bearing sands 

and gravels of the Lafayette formation or the water-bearing sands 

of the underlying Eocene deposits; in the lowlands the alluvial sands 

and gravels of Pleistocene and Recent age form the source. The 

waters are generally soft, but according to the statements of well 

owners some are moderately hard and some are ferruginous. Detailed information concerning wells at or in the vicinity of Lorado, 

Marmaduke, and Paragould is given in the table on page 190.

The sands and gravels which largely compose the alluvial deposits 

below the surface clays in the lowlands west and east of Crowleys 

Ridge contain water in large quantities; these beds may be tapped 

by wells from 10 to 175 feet deep. The Eocene strata which underlie 

Crowleys Ridge and which are present beneath the alluvial deposits 

of the lowlands, and the Cretaceous'strata which underlie the Eocene 

deposits, contain important water-bearing beds; these may be tapped 

at depths of 100 feet and over in Crowleys Ridge, and at depths of 

200 feet and over in the lowlands. The lower limit of possible waterbearing beds found in the Eocene and Cretaceous deposits is the Paleozoic basement rocks, which lie at an estimated maximum depth of 

1,200 feet or more in the extreme east. The waters of the Eocene and 

Cretaceous deposits are under hydrostatic pressure^ which in the 

Mississippi lowland may be sufficient to produce flows.

Small springs are numerous in Crowleys Ridge and are utilized 

to some extent for domestic and farm supplies. As reported by the 

owners, some of the spring waters are soft, some are hard, and some 

are ferruginous; a few are rendered turbid by suspended particles 

of clay.

LOCAL SUPPLIES.

Paragould. The municipal water supply of Paragould (population 5,248, census of 1910) is obtained from two wells. Detailed 

information concerning the system has been furnished by A. P. 

Mack, mayor, and L. Stedman, superintendent of waterworks. The 

wells are 512 feet deep and 6 inches in diameter (Nos. 7 and 8, p. 190).
GREENE COUNTY. 189

The water is raised by air lift at the rate of 353 gallons a minute 

from each well. The water is stored in two 120,000-gallon reservoirs 

at the pump station and is distributed through 5 miles of mains. 

The maximum direct pressure is 120 pounds per square inch. The 

daily consumption for all purposes is between 400,000 and 500,000 

gallons.

Detailed information concerning wells at Paragould owned by 

the Crystal Ice Co., the Paragould Brick Co., and the St. Louis, Iron 

Mountain & Southern Railway Co. is given in the table on page 190.

Rural supplies. Several typical wells used for domestic and farm 

supplies are described in the table on page 190. Logs or incomplete 

logs of several such wells are as follows:

Incomplete log of well of 8. P. Weigart, 5i miles north of Marmaduke.

[No. 6, p. 190.]

Eocene (Wilcox formation) : Feet.

White sand ____________________________ 26

Sand, water bearing______________________ 50

Coarse white sand, water bearing______________ 85

Red sand with some red clay, 8 inches thick________ 93

Sand, water bearing; water red when first pumped but

clears on continued pumping. After standing or boiling,

water becomes red _ _ _ _________ 98

Layer of " pipe " clay 1 inch thick______________ 98

Not reported to___________________________ 102

Log of well of R. A. Dortch, 12 miles northwest of Marmaduke, in the NE. $ 

'sec. 8, T. 19 N., R. 6 E.

Soil.....................................................................................

Sand....................................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

1

2

2

14

on

Depth.

Feet. 

1

3

5

19

39

Log of well of Joe Canfee, of Lafe, 3% miles north of Beech Grove, in the SE 

NE. I sec. 11, T. 18 N., R. 4 E.

Quaternary (alluvium):

Clay....................................... ............................... ....

Thickness.

Feet. 

3.5

4

7.5

12

3

Depth.

Feet. 

3.5

7.5

15

27

30
190 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

S 03

u £' §

 S>£§ 

.3 03 B

gfc.2 

o

'I9A9i i39s 9Aoqe not;

K-o o O o O

Sgft ft ft ft ft oM-dddd

"5 O 00 CH

oo co o o to to tototoo

M MO OOOO iH i-l IM (MIMINOC

i-H O O 

OS OS OS

ii

55 .3 

!« si H. "i OQ e

§ 1 a

^ s^s- ar

«^!t . M *~! WZJ <U '_J "-" r_j *^H 'CT -"tt ^5fe^fe5o3o^ *t O -,^T r*^ *C ^j*o ^ 'o _,'O _.S

le

*c

« Q

* 8

"3 S

S> .-Mr 

CS o £? So h

PM O

a S

. Mo So

rH <N TO
1 

2 

3 

4

6

7

8 

9

10

11 

12 

13

Location.

Place.

Lorado, 1£ miles 

southwest of. 

Lorado, 3 miles 

southeast of. 

Marmaduke, 9 miles 

northwest of. 

Marm a d u k e , 10 

miles northwest of. 

Marm a d u k e , 2£ 

miles north of. 

Manna duke, 5| 

miles north of.

.....do...............

.....do...............

.....do...............

.....do...............

.....do...............

.....do...............

T.

16 N.

18 N. 

19 N.

R.

3 E.

6 E. 

7 E.

Sec.

35.........

i, N. i,

SW.i. 

30, W. £

Character of principal water-bearing bed.

.....do.............

Level ofwater below surface.

Feet. 

65

109

40

50

50

32 

32

20

20 

20

Yield per minute.

Gallons.

353 

353

i 200 

50

Method oflift.

Hand.

Hand. 

Air.... 

..do....

.......

1

Cost ofwell.

$25

15 

16 

30 

65

} <"

.

0
192 GEOLOGY AND GEOUND WATERS, NOBTHEASTEEN AEKANSAS. 

INDEPENDENCE COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Independence County is in the northeast-central part of the State, 

west of Jackson County, and is on the border between the Coastal 

Plain and the Ozark province. The area is 762 square miles and the 

population, according to the census of 1910, is 24,776.

The greater part of the county is included within the Ozark province, a rugged, deeply dissected plateau which, within the county 

limits, lies 500 to 1,150 feet above sea level. This plateau is crossed 

from northwest to southeast by White Eiver, which flows through a 

narrow gorge 200 to 500 feet deep.

The remainder of the county, embracing a strip 3 to 6 miles wide 

bordering the county on the east and an area a few miles wide'extending up the valley of White Eiver as far as Batesville, is included 

in the Mississippi embayment, which is a part of the Gulf Coastal 

Plain. The greater part of the Coastal Plain portion lies 240 to 

250 feet above sea level and is a part of the subdivision known as 

the Advance lowland; a smaller part is a narrow, more or less 

clearly defined terrace bordering the Ozark province 40 to 100 feet 

or more above the bottom lands of Black Kiver; this is the northern extension of the Grandglaise terrace of Lonoke County (p. 

23). White Eiver flows out from the Ozark province into the 

Advance lowland a little south of the center of the county. Black 

Eiver forms the eastern boundary of the county from the northeastern corner southward to Jacksonport, where it joins White Eiver.

Only that part of the county included in the Coastal Plain is 

treated in this report; here lumbering and agriculture are the chief 

industries.

GEOLOGY.

The Ozark province is underlain by Paleozoic limestones, cherts, 

shales, and sandstones of Ordovician, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian age. The contact between these rocks and the unconsolidated sedimentary materials composing the Coastal Plain is marked 

by an abrupt erosion escarpment. Along the line of this escarpment 

the upper eroded surface of the older rocks passes to the eastward 

at a steep angle beneath the younger materials.

The oldest post-Paleozoic strata outcropping in the area are glauconitic sands interbedded with laminated clays and subordinate lenses 

of shell marl of Upper Cretaceous age and are probably referable to 

the Nacatoch sand; these form the body of the Grandglaise terrace in 

the vicinity of Newark and northward probably to and beyond the 

county line. Limestones of Eocene age belonging to the Midway
INDEPENDENCE COUNTY. 193

formation appear in the Grandglaise terrace along the margin of 

the Ozark province in. the extreme southeast. Undifferentiated 

Eocene and Cretaceous strata underlie the remainder of the lowland area beneath an estimated thickness of 100 to 150 feet of alluvial deposits. Little is known about these buried deposits, but they 

are believed to consist chiefly of sands, clays, and perhaps limestones, the thickness probably not exceeding 200 or 300 feet within 

the county. They rest upon the eastward-sloping surface of the 

buried Paleozoic rocks, the depth to which probably does not exceed 

400 feet.

On the hills along the 'eastern margin of the Ozark province and 

on the Grandglaise terrace are scattered deposits of gravel, which 

probably represent the Lafayette formation (Pliocene?).

The alluvial deposits which cover the Eocene and Cretaceous consist of sands, clays, loams, and gravels. In the flood plains of the 

streams the alluvial materials immediately underlying the surface to 

an undetermined depth are of Recent age; in the level interstream 

areas they are of Pleistocene age. The Pleistocene alluvial deposits 

are irregularly bedded, but in general grade downward from lightcolored, compact, silty clays at the surface through fine sands to 

coarse, water-bearing sands and gravels at the base, the total thickness, though undetermined, probably not exceeding 150 feet. They 

rest upon strata of Eocene age.

WATER RESOURCES. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

The statements which follow apply only to the small area in the 

east included in the Advance lowland. Here the domestic water 

supplies are obtained chiefly from wells 10 to 100 feet deep. Except 

in the narrow terrace along the western margin of the lowland, 

where only moderate amounts of water are obtained from strata 

of Eocene and Cretaceous age, the wells tap the abundantly waterbearing sands and gravels of the alluvial deposits, the waters of 

which are soft to moderately hard. The undifferentiated Eocene 

and Cretaceous deposits which underlie the alluvial deposits also 

contain water-bearing beds which may be tapped by wells 150 to 

400 feet deep. Flowing wells probably can not be obtained within 

the county.

LOCAL SUPPLIES.

The town of Newark (population 595, census of 1910) is on the

Grandglaise terrace bordering the Ozark province along the western

margin of the lowland. Shale of Paleozoic age lies 30 to 40 feet

beneath the surface. The beds overlying the shale consist in de11674° WSP 399 16 13
194 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

scending order of light brown, yellow, and red loam and clay, gray 

marl containing shells and shark teeth, and coarse basal waterbearing sands and gravels which are the main source of domestic 

water supplies. The fossiliferous marls probably belong to the 

Nacatoch sand of the Upper Cretaceous. 

The log of one well has been furnished by J. W. Sisk as follows:

Log of well at Newark, Indepeiidence County.

[Pleistocene?]:

[Upper Cretaceous (Nacatoch sand?)]:

Thickness.

Feet. 

8

8

1

1

2

1

J

Depth.

Feet. 

8

16

17

18

20

21

911

JACKSON COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Jackson County comprises 632 square miles in the northeast-central 

part of the State, between Independence County on the west and Poinsett County on the east. Its population at the time of the census of 

1910 was 23,501. Agriculture is the chief industry and includes the 

raising of cereals, fruits, and hay. Two cotton compresses, an oil 

mill, and several sawmills and mills which manufacture wood products are located at Newport. Lumbering is also an important industry.

A relatively small area in the southwestern part of the county is 

included in the Ozark province, a rugged, broken area lying 400 to 

600 feet above sea level. The remainder of the county is included in 

the Advance lowland and Grandglaise terrace of the Mississippi 

embayment which is a part of the Gulf Coastal Plain. The Grandglaise terrace is a narrow ridge or dissected terrace bordering the 

Ozark province just west of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway, the crest of which is approximately 300 feet above sea 

level. The Advance lowland is a plain lying 200 to 260 feet above 

sea level and sloping slightly to the southward. In the interstream 

areas the surface is gently undulating and partly timbered and 

the soil and subsoil are loam or silty clay. The broad flood plains 

of the streams are a few feet lower than the interstream areas, are in 

part swampy, and are traversed by numerous bayous. Between the 

swamps and bayous are fertile heavily timbered ridges of sand or
JACKSON COUNTY. 195

sandy loam, some rising a few feet higher than the general level of 

the lowland.

Black Eiver forms the western boundary from the northwestern 

corner of the county to Jacksonport, where it joins White River a 

stream which flows in a general southerly direction from Jacksonport 

to the southern boundary of the county. Cache River enters the 

county on the east and flows a little west of south to the southern 

boundary.

GEOLOGY.

In the Ozark province in the southwestern part of the county the 

surface is immediately underlain by Paleozoic rocks of Pennsylvanian 

age. Along their eastern border the Paleozoic rocks are separated 

from the materials of the Coastal Plain by an abrupt erosion escarpment along which their eroded surface passes beneath the deposits of 

the Coastal Plain and extends to the eastward to increasing depths, 

forming the basement upon which the latter rest; these basement 

rocks were encountered in a well at Newport at a depth of 655 feet. 

(See section, p. 197.)

Pebbly fossiliferous limestones interbedded with gray to yellowish 

sands belonging to the Midway formation (Eocene) outcrop in the 

basal 20 or 25 feet of the east-facing escarpment of the Grandglaise 

terrace. The Midway is overlain by reddish, pebbly sands, probably 

of the same age as the similar sands (Lafayette formation) overlying 

the Eocene strata of Crowleys Ridge; the red sands are overlain by 

dark and light, more or less sandy loams resembling certain facies 

of the loess of Crowleys Ridge and probably of the same age (middle 

Pleistocene). Scattered patches of gravel on the Paleozoic hills west 

of the Grandglaise terrace probably also represent the Lafayette 

formation. The Midway formation is separated from the alluvial 

deposits of the Advance lowland to the east by an abrupt erosion 

escarpment. Eocene and Cretaceous strata are believed to underlie 

the Advance lowland beneath 100 to 150 feet of alluvial deposits of 

Quaternary age; they probably consist mainly of sands and clays, in 

part water-bearing, and, rest upon the Paleozoic basement rocks. At 

Newport the basement rocks were struck in a well at a depth of 655 

feet and their upper surface probably inclines to greater depths to the 

eastward.

The alluvial deposits which immediately underlie the Advance lowland to estimated depths of 100 to 150 feet consist of loams, clays, 

sands, and gravels of Pleistocene and Recent age. The Pleistocene 

deposits, which outcrop in the nearly level interstream areas, are 

irregularly bedded, but in general grade downward from fine compact 

loams or silty clays at the surface through fine sands to coarse water-
196 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

bearing sands and gravels at the base. Paralleling the streams are 

numerous ridges of sand and sandy loam which rise above high-water 

level of the present streams and are probably of Pleistocene age. 

The flood plains of the streams are underlain to undetermined depths 

by Recent alluvial sands, clays, and loams.

WATER RESOURCES. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

Wells 10 to 100 feet deep furnish the principal domestic water 

supplies in the Advance lowland, which includes the greater part of 

the county. The wells tap the abundantly water-bearing sands and 

gravels of the alluvial deposits, the water standing within 10 to 30 

feet of the surface. As reported by the well owners some of the well 

waters are soft, some are hard, and some are ferruginous; with perhaps a few exceptions they are potable and are suitable for domestic 

and industrial purposes. The undifferentiated Tertiary and Cretaceous strata which underlie the alluvial deposits contain water-bearing 

beds and constitute an important undeveloped source of artesian 

water. Flowing wells probably can not be obtained in the Advance 

lowland in this county. Small springs are numerous in the Grandglaise terrace and in the Ozark province in the southwestern part 

of the county.

LOCAL SUPPLIES.

The waterworks plant of Newport (population 3,557, census of 

1910) is owned by the Newport Water, Light & Power Co., concerning which information has been furnished by S. Blackburn. Water 

from White River is filtered by means of a Eoberts pressure filter 

having a daily capacity of 500,000 gallons and is distributed to the 

consumers from a standpipe having a capacity of 70,000 gallons. 

The direct pressure is about 45 pounds per square inch, and the 

maximum pressure from the pumps for fire protection is 135 pounds 

per square inch. The total length of the distributing mains is 6 

miles, and the daily consumption is approximately 30,000 gallons 

for domestic use and 50,000 gallons for manufacturing.

The Newport Ice Co. owns a well 100 feet deep and 6 inches in 

diameter, completed in 1898. Mr. R. J. Hugully, the informant, 

states that a 6-inch casing extends to a depth of 85 feet, and the water, 

which comes from gravel penetrated in the bottom of the well, stands 

within 12 feet of the surface. The water is soft and is used for the 

manufacture of ice. The cost of the well and a pump operated by 

steam was $500.
JEFFERSON COUNTY. ' 197

In 1900 (?) an oil-prospecting well was drilled 1 mile southwest of 

Newport (sec. 10, T. 11 N., R. 3 W.) to a depth of 1,000 feet. The following log has been published by Purdue i 1

Log of oil-prospecting well 1 mile southwest of Newport.

Thickness.

Feet. 

30

75

50

500

345

Depth.

Feet. 

30

105

155

665

1,000

Purdue says:

The 105 feet of clay and sand at the top are of Recent [and Pleistocene] age; 

the rocks from the base of the quicksand downward are supposedly Paleozoic. 

The 550 feet between the Recent and the Paleozoic may all be Cretaceous, 

though it is possible that the upper 50 feet, reported as " soapstone," is Tertiary.

JEFFERSON COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Jefferson County comprises 903 square miles in the southeastcentral part of the State, west of Arkansas County. Its population 

at the time of the census of 1910 was 52,734. Only that part of the 

county lying north and east of Arkansas River is in the area covered 

by this report. The chief industry is agriculture and the leading 

crop is cotton, although cereals are grown to an important extent. 

The rice-growing industry has been introduced in recent years, and in 

certain places in the northeast is rapidly growing in importance.

The county is included within two well-defined topographic divisions of the Gulf Coastal Plain. In the west an area varying in 

width from 3 miles in the north to 16 miles in the south forms part 

of an upland which is extensively developed in the interstream areas 

of southwestern Arkansas; within this county the upland lies 300 

to 350 feet above sea level. The remainder of the county is included 

within the Advance lowland, the general surface of which is a plain 

190 to 235 feet above sea level sloping slightly to the south. Arkansas 

River traverses the lowland from northwest to southeast and forms 

the southwestern boundary of the area here treated. Nearly all the 

land northeast of the river is included within the gently undulating 

flood plain of Arkansas River, is in part swampy, and is traversed by 

numerous bayous and abandoned stream channels. The soil is fertile and, except where cleared for cultivation, is heavily timbered;

1 Purdue, A. H., U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 145, pp. 96, 97, 1905.
198 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

the areas above high-water level and the areas protected from overflow by levees produce large crops, particularly of cotton.

GEOLOGY.

Strata of Eocene age, referable chiefly to the Jackson formation, 

outcrop in the upland area in the western part of the county; undifferentiated Eocene deposits underlie the remainder of the county 

beneath 125 feet or more of Quaternary alluvium. Although nothing 

definite is known concerning the Eocene deposits beneath the alluvium, they are believed to consist of 500 feet or more of sands, clays, 

and marls, in part water bearing. The Eocene deposits are probably 

underlain by similar deposits of Cretaceous age, which doubtless also 

contain water-bearing beds. The Cretaceous strata are believed to 

rest on a deeply buried basement of Paleozoic rocks. The alluvial 

deposits in the Advance lowland northeast of Arkansas River have 

an estimated thickness of 125 to 150 feet and consist of alluvial 

loams, clays, sands, and gravels. The surface materials are probably 

for the most part of Recent age, but some of the higher interstream 

areas may be of Pleistocene age. The thickness of the Recent deposits has not been determined, but it is probable that Pleistocene 

deposits underlie them and intervene between them and the Eocene 

deposits. The sands and gravels of the alluvial deposits are abundantly water bearing.

WATER KESOUKCES.

Domestic supplies. In the area northeast of Arkansas River water 

for domestic use is obtained chiefly from wells 15 to 125 feet deep, 

which tap the abundantly water-bearing sands and gravels of the 

alluvial deposits; the waters stand in the wells 5 to 20 feet below 

the surface. According to the reports received from well owners, 

most of the waters are hard, but some are soft, and a few are ferruginous. The undifferentiated Eocene and Cretaceous deposits which 

intervene between the alluvial deposits and the deeply buried 

Paleozoic basement rocks also contain important water-bearing beds, 

the waters of which are under sufficient hydrostatic pressure to bring 

them nearly to the surface, and in wells 1,000 feet or more deep perhaps above the surface. At Lake Dick wells have been drilled as 

deep as 350 feet and at Langford as deep as 274 feet.

In the part of the county southwest of Arkansas River wells 50 

to 100 feet in depth are common, and the deep wells listed in the 

table on page 200 (Nos. 4-11) have been drilled at and near Pine 

Bluff and at Redfield.

'Wells for irrigation. Wells for irrigating rice lands have been 

drilled in the vicinity of McGrew, New Gascony, and Wabbaseka,
JEFFERSON COUNTY. 199

detailed information concerning seven of which is given on page 200. 

The wells are 35 to 125 feet deep and yield 390 to 2,000 gallons of 

water a minute. The cost of sinking the wells and erecting pumping 

plants ranges from $450 to $1,550 per well, the average cost of production based on five wells being $600 for each 1,000 gallons of yield 

per minute, or at the rate of 60 cents for each gallon of yield a 

minute. Incomplete analyses of samples of water from two irrigation wells near Wabbaseka are given in the table opposite page 302 

(Nos. 23 and 24).

The following is the log of an irrigation well owned by John 

Ingram, sr., 5 miles east of Wabbaseka (No. 15, p. 200) :

Log of well of John Ingram, sr., 5 miles east of Wabbaseka.

'

Quaternary alluvium:

Thickness.

Feet. 

19

16

8

8

8

2

5

Depth.

Feet. 

19

35

,40

51

59

61

66
Wells in Jefferson County.

1

2 

3

4 

5

6

7 

8

9 

10

lOa 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15

Location.

Place.

New Gascony, 2 miles 

northwest of. 

.....do.................

Pine Bluff.. ............

.....do.................

.....do.................

.....do.................

.....do.................

.....do.................

.....do.................

Pine Bluff, 7 miles 

southeast of. 

Redfleld. ...............

Wabbaseka, 1 mile 

northeast of. 

Wabbaseka, 1§ miles 

southeast of. 

Wabbaseka, threefourths mile north of. 

Wabbaseka, 5 miles 

east of.

T.

4S. 

5S. 

5S.

6S.

4S. 

4S. 

4S.

R.

7W.

7W. 

7W.

8W.

7W. 

7W. 

7W.

Sec.

31,NE.i.. 

31,NE.J-..

33, NE. J 

NW.J.

21.........

7..........

13, NW.J..

Owner.

John Ingram, sr. ......

.....do................

S. Geirreiter...........

St. Louis Southwestern Ry. 

.....do................

Pine Bluff Water & 

Light Co. 

Sawyer-Austin Lumber Co. 

Pine Bluff Ice Co.... ..

Arkansas Cotton Oil 

Co. 

B. L. Rutherford .....

St. Louis, Iron Moun- 

& Southern Ry. 

W. L. Davis.. ........

N. T. Roberts, Pine 

Bluff, Ark.

Driller.

Layne & Bowler, 

Stuttgart. 

United Well Co., 

Stuttgart.

W. B. S. Sharpe & Bro. 

.....do................

W. B. Sharpe.........

Johnson & Fleming, 

Memphis, Term.

George Hestand. Pine 

Bluff. 

Owners ...............

A. D. Bunn...........

John Ingram & Bros... .

J

O

..

J

R

F

O

O

C

O

G

H

a Veatch, A. C., Geology and underground water resources of northern Louisiana and southern Arka
1

2

3

4 

5 

6

7

8 

9

10 

lOa

11 

12

13 

14

15

Location.

Place.

New Gascony, 2 miles 

northwest of. 

.....do..............

.....do..............

.....do..............

.....do..............

.....do..............

.....do..............

.....do..............

Pine Bluff, 7 miles 

southeast of. 

Redfleld.. ...........

Wabbaseka, 1 mile 

northeast of. 

Wabbaseka, 1 J miles 

southeast of. 

Wabbaseka, threefourths mile 

north of. 

Wabbaseka, 5 miles 

east of.

T.

48. 

58.

58.

6S.

4S. 

48.

48.

R.

7W. 

7W.

7W.

8W.

7W. 

7W.

7W.

Sec.

3i,NE.'i"..

31,NE.i..

33. NE.J 

NW.J.

21.........

7..........

13, NW. J.

Character of principal water-bearing bed.

Sand and gravel... 

.....do............

Sand and gravel . .

Coarse sand and 

gravel. 

Sand and gravel...

Level ofwater below surface.

Feet.

17 

17

20

22

Q1

47

26

28 

4

60 

15

7 

15

8

Yield per minute.

Galls. 

2.000

2,000 

2,000

650

30+ 

4,000

20

1,500 

2,000

390

Method oflift.

Steam 

...do..

Steam

Steam 

...do.. 

...do...

...do...

*o

$750 

750

3,

1,000 

300 

1,

41

3

1
202 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS. 

LAWRENCE COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Lawrence County lies west of Green and Craighead counties, on 

the border between the Ozark province and the Gulf Coastal Plain. 

Its area is 592 square miles, and its population was given by the 

census of 1910 as 20,001. The western part of the county, embracing 

a little less than half of the total area, forms a part of the Ozark 

province, a rugged, dissected area 400 feet or more above sea level; the 

remainder of the county is included in the Mississippi embayment, 

which is a part of the Gulf Coastal Plain, and only this part is here 

considered. In this section agriculture is the chief industry, and 

includes the raising of cotton, the common cereals, rice, hay, and 

vegetables.

Along the western margin of the Coastal Plain, in the southern 

part of the county, is a narrow terrace lying 330 or 340 feet above 

sea level and 70 to 100 feet above the level of the lowland to the east, 

which is the northward extension of the Grandglaise terrace of Independence and Jackson counties.

The remainder of the county to the east is included in the Advance 

lowland, a nearly level or gently rolling plain lying 260 to 280 feet 

above sea level and sloping slightly to the south. The interstream 

areas of this lowland are white clay flats, poorly drained and partly 

wooded. The flood plains bordering the streams are 3 to 6 miles 

wide and present networks of bayous, abandoned channels, and 

swamps, separated by higher, rolling, partly forested tracts of sand 

and sandy loam. Black River flows across the Advance lowland 

from north of Black Eock a little west of south to the southern 

boundary, where it is joined by Strawberry River, which flows in 

from the northwest. Cache River forms the eastern boundary.

GEOLOGY.

The Ozark province in the western part of the county is underlain 

by Paleozoic rocks of Mississippian and pre-Carboniferous age; the 

contact between these rocks and the deposits of the Gulf Coastal Plain 

is a steep, east ward-facing erosion escarpment against which the 

younger deposits rest; the older rocks extend eastward beneath the 

younger deposits, reaching greater depths in that direction; they 

form the basement upon which the deposits of the Coastal Plain rest.

The Grandglaise terrace, which extends from Independence County 

a short distance into Lawrence County, is composed chiefly of stratified sands and clays probably belonging to the Nacatoch sand of the 

Upper Cretaceous. These beds, however, are capped by 3 to 10 feet
LAWRENCE COUNTY. 203

of pebbly sands and loams, probably corresponding in part to the 

Lafayette formation (Pliocene?) and in part to the loess of Crowleys 

Ridge. On the crest of the hills immediately west of the Grandglaise area are scattered patches of gravel deposits, probably also 

representing the Lafayette formation.

Beneath 150 to 180 feet of alluvial deposits the Advance lowland 

is underlain in descending order by undifferentiated strata of Eocene 

and Cretaceous age, which at an undetermined depth rest on a basement of Paleozoic rocks; the Eocene and Cretaceous deposits contain 

water-bearing beds. The alluvial deposits which immediately underlie the Advance lowland consist of loams, clays, sands, and gravels 

of Pleistocene and Recent age. The Pleistocene deposits which outcrop in the interstream areas, though irregularly bedded, in general 

grade downward from light-gray silty clays or loams at the surface 

through fine sands to coarse, water-bearing sands and gravels at the 

base. At many places, however, low ridges of sand or sandy loam 

rise above the level of the white clay flats and are probably of 

Pleistocene age. The flood plains of the streams are underlain to an 

undetermined depth by Recent alluvial sands, clays, and loams, which 

probably rest upon the Pleistocene alluvium.

WATER RESOURCES. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

In the Advance lowland water for domestic and industrial purposes 

is obtained chiefly from wells, 15 to 100 feet deep, which tap the 

abundantly water-bearing sands and gravels of the alluvial deposits, 

though a few wells have been sunk to greater depths. According to 

the reports of well owners many of the waters are moderately hard, 

but some are soft and a few are ferruginous. The waters stand in the 

wells within 5 to 20 feet of the surface.

The strata beneath the alluvial deposits, which (in descending 

order) are believed to be of Eocene and Cretaceous age and which rest 

upon a basement of Paleozoic rocks, probably contain important 

water-bearing beds that would be tapped by wells ranging in depth 

from 200 feet to an estimated maximum depth of 600 or 700 feet. The 

upper surface of the basement Paleozoic rocks lies at its greatest depth 

in the extreme eastern part of the county. Flowing wells probably 

can not be obtained from the deposits of the Coastal Plain within the 

limits of the county.

A few small springs issuing from the Eocene deposits which outcrop along the western border of the Advance lowland are used to a 

small extent for domestic supplies.
204 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSASLOCAL SUPPLIES.

Walnut Ridge. At Walnut Ridge (population 1,798, census of 

1910) water for domestic and industrial uses is obtained chiefly from 

wells 30 to 100 feet deep. The general character of the strata underlying the town and the surrounding country may be understood by 

referring to the logs of two wells used for irrigation (p. 205).

Alicia. At Alicia (population 168, census of 1910) the St. Louis, 

Iron Mountain & Southern Railway obtains water for the boiler 

supply of locomotives from a well 77 feet deep (No. 1, p. 206), a log 

of which is given as follows:

Log of well of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway at Alicia.

Pleistocene alluvium: 

Tough clay .........................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

8

55

14

Depth.

Feet. 

8

63

77

Black Rock. Black Rock (population 1,078, census of 1910) is on 

the border between the Ozark province and the Gulf Coastal Plain. 

Many of the wells in the vicinity pass through a thin covering of 

deposits of the Coastal Plain and enter the underlying Paleozoic 

rocks, but some obtain water from sands and gravels at the base of the 

deposits of the Coastal Plain. A well of the latter kind is owned by 

Clay Sloan, who has furnished the following log:

Log of well of Clay Sloan, 1 mile ivest of Black Rock.

Clay....................................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

52

3

Depth.

Feet. 

52

55

Lynn. Lynn is also on the border between the Ozark province 

and the Gulf Coastal Plain; the Paleozoic rocks are overlain by 20 to 

50 feet of clays, sands, and gravels of post-Paleozoic age; many of 

the wells tap the sands and gravels which are water bearing. The log 

of a well owned by O. F. Rider, which entered the Paleozoic rocks at 

a depth of 46 feet, is as follows:
LAWRENCE COUNTY. 

Log of well of 0. F. Rider, 1 mile west of Lynn.

205

Tertiary:

Paleozoic:

Thickness.

Feet. 

46

277

Depth.

Feet. 

46

323

Wells for irrigation. In the Advance lowland the soil, topography, 

and water supply afford favorable conditions for the rapid growth of 

the rice-growing industry, and water for irrigating rice lands is obtained from wells tapping the water-bearing sands and gravels of the 

alluvial deposits and yielding 800 to 2,500 gallons a minute. Detailed information concerning two irrigation wells near Walnut 

Eidge is given in the table on page 206 (Nos. 6 and 7), and the logs 

are as follows:

Log of well of 8. C. Dowell, 1 mile northeast of Walnut Ridge.

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium:

Clay..........................-.:.....-......----..-......-----..-........-..-......

Clay............ .................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

6

15

15

10

19

112

Depth.

Feet. 

6

21

36

46

65

177

Log of -well of Robinson & Cornett, 1\ miles southeast of Walnut Ridge.

Pleistocene alluvium: ~ 

Clay................................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

3

11

51

16.5

Depth.

Feet. 

3

14

65

81.5
- w « * *, 0 -a 

miles . west of.1JLynn, Walnut 1mile Ridg, northeast of.Walnut 1milesRidge, J

southeast of.

1 § 5 

W >-i h-t 

t-3 b3 1 I-

,» J" - 

CQ i» S 

fel fel P 

frH iHH ^ 

Mountain &Southern Co. Ry. Rider....... O.FDowell...... S.C & Robinson Cor-nett.

Worth Drilling Co.,Worth. & LayneBowler, Stuttgart. Brown and J.E 

A. DCornett.

w u 

|_i O 

'"> 

1

2

i

Q

§

S2

0

^

5" 

T"

?

W

Mountain &Southern Co.Ry

H. C Martin ...

.................... Smith Chas. andGeo. Shale. Henderson. .Geo. 

'"''M ' ' ^ 

yH ' 2 

<3> ' P 

* > 1 1 

CD CD CO 

Poo 

tf*- -<l Ci 

: H- 

?

t> 

3'

CB 

-t1 -

1

J.R.Stephens, chief engi-neer.

OS 1 -

o 

o 

to

r* H- Hhf4 O5 h-t 

*4ft CiCJlOO 00-~Ils3 

c^ --J O C71 C71 CO --J 1 h1 O55T OO5O5 COH-'CTl 

^TO 1 T 05 I* 00 

^4^^< -^ ^1 1 h- *4 1 h 

g

Bo S Boy® S oRo 

.f^ 2. '^'Ei o^ *.o 

1 if! 1 I

'

»

f

GQ <s

F 

?

0

O

1

a

completed. Date 

eleva- Approximate 

level. sea above tion 

Depth.

Diameter.

principal to Depth 

bed. water-bearing 

other to Depth 

beds. water-bearing 

O

90S Aooioao ajsiv a^noao 'saaivAi 
1

2 

3

4

5 

6

7

Location. .

Place.

A Ij/tia

Black Bock, 1 mile 

west of.

Lynn, 11 miles 

i west of. 

Walnut Ridge,' 1 

mile northeast of.

Walnut Ridge, 1J 

miles southeast of.

T.

16 N.

17 N.

16 N.

R.

3W. 

IE.

IE.

Sec.

23, SE.J.. 

25,SE.i..

i, NE.I...

Character of principal water-bearing bed.

Coarse gravel......

Level ofwater below surface.

Feet. 

15

70

20

80

12

14

Yield per minute.

Galls.

2,600 

800

Method oflift.

Wind. 

Hand.

Steam. 

Gas.

Cost ofwell.

$2

3

2,7

400

Coma

>0 

75

50 

W
208 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

LEE COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Lee County, in the eastern part of the State adjacent to the northwestern part of the State of Mississippi, has an area of 601 square 

miles and a population, according to the census of 1910, of 24,252. 

Agriculture, which includes the raising of cotton, cereals, and in 

lesser quantities potatoes, tobacco, and sorghum, is one of the principal industries; rice growing has been introduced in the county and 

in the area west of Crowleys Eidge will probably become important. 

Lumbering is another important industry. At Marianna, the county 

seat, there are several large lumber mills, a spoke factory, a brickmaking plant, and a large cottonseed-oil mill.

The county is in the Mississippi embayment of the Gulf Coastal 

Plain and is topographically subdivisible into three parts, as follows: 

Crowleys Eidge, the Advance lowland, and the Mississippi lowland.

Crowleys Eidge, which trends north and south a little east of the 

center of the county, is interrupted by a gap 6 to 8 miles wide 

through which L'Anguille Eiver flows from northwest to southeast. 

Only the southern nose of the part of the ridge north of the gap 

appears in this county. The part of the ridge south of the gap is a 

hilly, partly wooded area, 3 to 5 miles wide, extending from the 

southern boundary northward to Marianna, a distance of 6 miles; the 

maximum elevation of the ridge has not been exactly determined, 

but is probably between 325 and 375 feet above sea level, or 125 to 

150 feet above the lowlands to the east and west; the eastwardfacing slope of the ridge is steeper than the westward-facing slope, 

though both are sharply defined. The Advance lowland, which 

includes the part of the county west of Crowleys Eidge, is in general 

a plain 200 to 230 feet above sea level. The interstream areas are 

gently undulating, being in part wooded and in part open, grasscovered prairies. The broad, slightly depressed flood plains of the 

streams are heavily timbered and are interspersed with swamps, 

shallow lakes, and bayous. The Mississippi lowland includes the 

part of the county east of Crowleys Eidge, a poorly drained, heavily 

timbered plain lying 200 to 220 feet above sea level; swamps, bayous, 

and abandoned stream channels are numerous.

Mississippi Eiver forms the eastern boundary of the county; St. 

Francis Eiver flows from north to south, east of Crowleys Eidge, 

and joins the Mississippi just south of the southern boundary in 

Phillips County. L'Anguille Eiver enters the county west of Crowleys Eidge, flows from northwest to southeast through a gap in the 

ridge and joins St. Francis Eiver. The western part of the county 

is drained by Big Creek, a tributary of White Eiver.
LEE COUNTY. 209 

GEOLOGY.

Crowleys Ridge, to a height of 50 to 80 feet or more above its base, 

is composed of irregularly bedded sands and clays, in part lignitic, 

belonging to. the Jackson formation of the Eocene. Eocene deposits 

representing the Jackson formation, and in descending order several 

formations older than the Jackson, underlie Crowleys Ridge to an 

estimated depth of 1,200 feet or more; they are underlain by deposits 

of Cretaceous age, which at an estimated depth of 3,000 feet or more 

rest upon a basement of rocks believed to be of Paleozoic age. The 

Eocene and Cretaceous deposits underlie the remainder of the county 

beneath 125 to 200 feet of alluvial deposits and contain important 

water-bearing beds. In Crowleys Ridge the Eocene strata are overlain unconformably by 10 feet or more of coarse sands and gravels 

belonging to the Lafayette formation (Pliocene?), above which are 

50 to 100 feet of calcareous loess forming the capping material of 

the ridge. In places the loess contains numerous fossil remains of 

land shells.

The Advance lowland west of Crowleys Ridge is underlain to a 

depth of 125 to 200 feet by loams, clays, sands, and gravels of 

Pleistocene and Recent age. The Pleistocene deposits rest unconformably upon Eocene strata throughout the area, and outcrop in 

the interstream areas; although irregularly bedded, in general they 

grade downward from silty clays, loams, or fine sands at the surface 

through fine sands to coarse, water-bearing sands and gravels at 

the base. In the flood plains of the streams the Pleistocene deposits 

are overlain by an undetermined thickness of alluvial loams, clays, 

sands, and gravel. The Mississippi lowland east of Crowleys Ridge 

is underlain to an estimated depth of 150 to 225 feet by Quaternary 

alluvial loams, clays, sands, and gravels. Here the surface materials 

are probably of Recent age, but Pleistocene alluvium may intervene 

between the Recent and the underlying Eocene deposits. The coarser 

phases of the alluvium contain water in great quantities.

WATER RESOURCES. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

Domestic water supplies are obtained chiefly from wells 25 to 150 

feet deep. In the lowlands they tap the abundantly water-bearing 

sands and gravels of the Quaternary alluvium, the waters of which 

stand in the wells 10 to 50 feet below the surface. In Crowleys 

Ridge the source is either the sands and gravels of the Lafayette 

formation (Pliocene?) or the sands of the underlying Jackson formation (Eocene) the waters of which will rise to within 30 to 140

11674° WSP 399 16 14
210 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

feet of the surface, depending upon the depth and the elevation of the mouth of the well/ In the lowlands the hydrostatic pressure of the deeply buried, Eocene and Cretaceous waters is sufficient to bring them within less than 100 feet of 

the surface, and in the Mississippi lowland wells 1,000 feet 

or more in depth will probably flow. As reported by the well owners, some of the well waters are soft, some are hard, and some are 

ferruginous; in general they are suitable for all ordinary .domestic 

and industrial uses. Small springs are fairly common in Crowleys 

Ridge, particularly at the foot of the steep, east-facing slopes, and 

are utilized to a small extent for domestic and farm supplies.

LOCAL SUPPLIES.

Marianna. Marianna (population 4,810, census of 1910), the 

county seat, owns a municipal water-supply system, information 

concerning which has been furnished by the mayor, T. E. Wood. 

Water is obtained from two 6-inch wells 619 feet deep (Nos. 3 

and 4, p. 212) ; the water rises within 60 feet of the surface and is 

forced to a small reservoir by means of two air compressors having 

a combined capacity of 1,000 gallons a minute, whence it is pumped 

to an elevated tank having a capacity of 70,000 gallons, from which 

it is distributed through 5 miles of mains. The tank pressure is 60 

pounds per square inch and the direct pressure from the pumps for 

fire protection is 150 pounds per square inch. The daily consumption is 235,000 gallons for domestic use and 15,000 gallons for manufacturing. The water is soft.

A well, 125 feet deep and 3 inches in diameter, is owned by the 

Marianna Light & Power Co. (No. 5, p. 212), the log of which is as 

follows:

Log of well of Marianna Light & Power Co., Marianna.

Pleistocene alluvium:

Clay................................................................................

Clay................................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

1

3

86

10

10

15

Depth.

Feet. 

1

4

on

100

110

125
LEE COUNTY. 211

Lagrange. A well owned by the Kennedy Heading Co., 4 miles 

east of Lagrange, is 176 feet deep (No. 1, p. 212); the log is as follows:

Log of well of Kennedy Heading Co., 4 miles east of Lagrange.

Pleistocene (?):

Pliocene (?) (Lafayette formation?):

Thickness.

Feet. 

40

40

90

6

Depth.

Feet. 

40

80

170

176

The following is the log of a 273-foot well about 5 miles east of 

Lagrange owned by J. O. Hale, of Marianna (well No. 2, p. 212):

Log of well of J. O. Hale, about 5 miles east of Lagrange.

Pleistocene (?):

Pliocene (?) (Lafayette formation?):

Eocene:

Thickness.

Feet. 

50

60

10

90

68.

5

Depth.

Feet. 

50

100

110

200

268

273

Wells for irrigation. Rice has been successfully grown on the 

prairies in the western part of the county. Detailed information 

concerning several wells in the vicinity of Moro, used for irrigating 

rice lands, is given on pages 212-213 (wells Nos. 7-11). The wells 

range in depth from 145 to 195 feet and yield from 2,000 to 3,500 

gallons a minute. The water is obtained from the Pleistocene alluvial sands and gravels underlying the Advance lowland. The log of 

S. D. Johnston's irrigation well is as follows:

Log of well of S. D. Johnston, 2J miles northwest of Moro.

(No. 10, p. 212.)

Pleistocene alluvium:

Very fine sand gradually increasing in coarseness to coarse gravel, water bearing;

Thickness.

Feet. 

15

180

Depth.

Fee 

15

195
i-" ta co en*, cs ~a oo O«D t* 

ggg g g g gg g 

g-gfiSBRR ^qgq°^° 

5- 5' p" g. S3- §. = ,? w ,? gP 3L° 

SpJpPP !^ 0 O^O^?^

p P gJS p & r* B r***" r-^ 

ll|l r 1 !!' 1 

|||ii e Si g 

|?|»c i &a & 

CD P 1 | 1 1 

CO CO COM CO 

1 *Z tt *£ 

H H HH ^ 

CO CO >IX CO >-> 

CO CO M** O 

: : w 3 3$ : 

g S c? J» P 

Op'KPHdg g 5< 

Q HI "Jinj o fOP CD hf 

PwPE B- fa-?| 

t « Bf II 

» » & p I 1 

: : 1 t- t> 

: : ^ w& 

P- & a-CP a. p. g.g 

0 0 SCO 0 0 O P 5 

l ? 1 

3 p 

O j> OpQ 

I & S & i? ° 

i I I 

i i ? I i 

4 miles east of Lagrange, Smiles east of Lagrange, 

5 5 

i»> £> 

H M 

8 £S 

. Kennedy Heading 

Co. 

... O. J.Mari- . Hale, 

anna. 

... Town............. 

......do............ .

H : : g' : : 

&J.P D& 

i

^3

i

to to to to to 

0.0.0 » 0 

ruerrant, na.

O.C.Norment, Maria nna. 

.....do........

0

o

&

a

i-'w' to >-"a>a> !_ >->>-' ta,_i H- 

§8. c3 ln££ 5 S iSi tncn W 

1 s

to& to co9»a> a> o a> coco to MHg

n! tO H-t i4x <O i4x 

Cn O CnCn 00 

' ? : : i i : i 

1 I

a-* 1 

 *! 1 

a: 

H w *^ 

&'§ § d.£ 

g g- ag&aa a o «d a 

5 CD 00000 0 0 00 0 

'I

e 

^

p,

C5 § 

o 

& 2. 

^ a- 

? ' 

2 P

.8

H

W

CQ

p

Owner.

Location.

« 

£

£

£ 

5

1

VI

completed. Date 

eleva- Approximate 

level. sea above tion 

Depth.

Diameter.

principal to Depth 

bed. water-bearing 

other to Depth 

beds. water-bearing 

O

-*8

lf &s<& ta 

illp"a> 

2, W

Ito*

^ooioao CINV aNnoao 'saaivAY 
1

2

3

4 

5

6

7 

8

9 

10

11

Location.

Place.

Lagrange, 4 miles east 

of. 

Lagrange, 5 miles east 

of. 

Marianna (well No. 1)

Marianna (well No. 2)

Marianna, one-half 

mile south of post 

office. 

Marianna, 3 blocks 

from post office.

Moro, 2 miles northwest of. 

Moro, 2 miles north of

Moro, 2| miles northwest of.

Moro, 7J miles northwest of.

T.

IN. 

IN.

3N. 

3N.

2N. 

3N.

3N.

R.

4E. 

4E.

IE. 

IE.

IE. 

IE.

1 W.

Sec.

28?........

23.........

33, SE.J.. 

33.SW.J..

4,NW.J..

32,SW.J..

10.........

Character of principal water-bearing bed.

White sand. ...... 

.....do............

.....do............

Sand and gravel...

.....do............

Level ofwater below surface.

Feet. 

125

140

60

60 

30

50?

26 

26

26 

26

32

Yield per minute.

Galls.

400 

600

35

2,000 

3,000

3,500 

3,500

800

Method oflift.

Steam. 

Gas...

Air. . .

...do...

Steam.

Steam. 

...do...

...do...

...do...

Cost ofwell.

.......

X

e

1,750 

1,750

2,i

1,400

Coomach

...

00

00

00 

00
214 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

LONOKE COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Lonoke County, in the east-central part of the State, comprises an 

area of 794 square miles and has a population (census of 1910) of 

27,983. Agriculture, lumbering, and stock raising are the chief industries. The first commercial crop of rice produced in the State 

was raised near Lonoke, the county seat, in 1904, since which time the 

industry has rapidly grown.

A few square miles in the northwestern part of the county, included 

in the Ozark province, is hilly, the tops of the hills and ridges lying 

400 to 600 feet above sea level. The remainder of the county is included in the Gulf Coastal Plain, which is here separable into Chinquapin Ridge and the Advance lowland.

Chinquapin Eidge, or the " sandhills " lying just east of the Ozark 

province.and east of Austin and Cabot, is a sandy ridge having a 

maximum width of several miles, a north-south extent of approximately 12 miles, and an elevation of 375 or 400 feet above sea level. 

The Advance lowland is a nearly level or gently rolling plain, 200 to 

250 feet above sea level, and sloping slightly to the south. The interstream areas present numerous tracts of open, grass-covered prairies, 

separated by slightly lower timbered lands. Grand Prairie, an irregular but in general continuous tract of prairie, lies northeast of Bayou 

Two Prairie and extends from a point 6 miles northwest of Lonoke 

southeastward through Lonoke, Prairie, and Arkansas counties (p. 

27); Prairie Longue, a similar prairie, extends southeastward 

through Lonoke County south of Bayou Two Prairie, and parallel 

to Grand Prairie (p. 27). The broad flood plains of the streams, for 

the most part swampy and heavily timbered, are characterized by 

numerous ponds, abandoned stream channels, and bayous. The southwestern part of the county falls within the flood plain of Arkansas 

Eiver and supports a vigorous growth of timber.

The county is drained chiefly by Cypress Bayou, Wattensas Bayou, 

Bayou Two Prairie, Bayou Meto, and Indian Bayou.

GEOLOGY.

Paleozoic rocks of Pennsylvanian age outcrop in the Ozark province 

in the northwest and are present beneath deposits of the Coastal 

Plain throughout the remainder of the county. The Paleozoic rocks 

are separated from the deposits of the Coastal Plain by a relatively steep southeastward-facing erosion escarpment along the line 

of which the eroded surface of the Paleozoic rocks passes under the 

deposits of the Coastal Plain and extends to the eastward beneath 

them, reaching greater depths in that direction.
LONOKE COUNTY. 215

Strata of Cretaceous age, dipping slightly to the southeast, rest 

upon the Paleozoic basement rocks, but so far as known do not outcrop in this county; the Upper Cretaceous fossils Exogyra costata 

Say and Cardium eufaulense Conrad have been recognized in a 

calcareous sandstone taken from a depth of 15 or 20 feet in a well at 

Cabot (p. 40). The Cretaceous deposits are overlain by southeastward-dipping strata of Eocene age; limestones of the Midway formation have been observed in outcrops near Cabot (p. 49), and probably the beds composing Chinquapin Ridge east of Austin and Cabot 

belong to the Eocene.

Throughout the Advance lowland the Eocene deposits are overlain 

and concealed by 125 to 200 feet of Quaternary alluvial loams, clays, 

sands, and gravels of Pleistocene and Recent age. The Pleistocene 

alluvium, which rests upon the Eocene strata and outcrops in the 

interstream areas, though irregularly bedded grades downward in 

general from gray compact silty clays at the surface through fine 

sands to coarse water-bearing sands and gravels at the base. The 

Recent alluvium immediately underlies the flood plains of the present 

streams.

WATER RESOURCES. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

Ordinary supplies. In the Advance lowland water for domestic, 

industrial, and irrigation uses is obtained chiefly from wells 15 to 

180 feet deep, tapping the abundantly water-bearing sands and 

gravels of the Quaternary alluvial deposits, the waters of which stand 

in the wells 10 to 50 feet below the surface. As reported by the well 

owners, some of the waters are soft, some are hard, and some are 

ferruginous; with an occasional exception, they are suitable for all 

ordinary uses. The undifferentiated Eocene and Cretaceous deposits, 

which in the southeastern part of the county probably reach a thickness of 1,000 feet or more, contain important water-bearing beds, 

the waters of which are probably under sufficient hydrostatic pressure to bring them within less than 100 feet of the surface, but not 

sufficient to cause overflows at the surface. Cisterns are in use at some 

places along the western border of the Gulf Coastal Plain, and particularly at Cabot.

Irrigation. The rice-growing industry in Arkansas had its beginning in this county (pp. 144-149). From the first water for irrigating 

the rice lands has been obtained from wells, and because of the great 

quantities of water obtainable from the sands and gravels of the 

Quaternary deposits at depths of 25 to 180 feet wells have continued 

to be used. The water stands in the wells at depths of 10 to 50 feet 

and is lifted by means of powerful machinery, the yield per minute 

ranging from 600 to 4,000 gallons for each well. The cost of drill-
216 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

ing and equipping the wells ranges from $580 to $5,000, the difference 

in cost depending chiefly on the depth and diameter of the wells and 

on the capacity of the pumping machinery. The average cost, based 

on 15 wells, is about $811 for each 1,000 gallons of yield per minute, 

or at the rate of 81 cents for each gallon of yield per minute. De- 

. tailed information concerning 21 irrigation wells is given in the 

table on pages 220-223.

LOCAL SUPPLIES.

Lonoke. Lonoke (population 1,547, census of 1910), the county 

seat, is equipped with a municipal water-supply system, owned by 

W. Y. Bransford, information concerning which has been furnished 

by the owner and by the postmaster. Water is obtained from two 

wells, one of which is 103 feet deep and the other 105 feet deep (Nos. 

23, 24, p. 222). The water is distributed from a tank having a 

capacity of 18,000 gallons, and the daily consumption is about 36,000 

gallons; the water is ferruginous.

A log of the 105-foot well, the figures in which are approximations, 

is as follows:

Log of 105-foot well at waterworks plant, Lonoke.

Pleistocene alluvium:

Sandandgravel..................... . ............... . . . ...........

Thickness.

Feet.

97

3

18

28

4

25

Depth.

Feet.

97

30

48

76

8ft

105

Holland. At Holland station, 4 miles southwest of Cabot, the St. 

Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Co. drilled in 1911 a 

1,352-foot well, the log of which is as follows:

Log of well owned ~by the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Co.,

Holland.

[No. 16, p. 220.]

Quaternary or Tertiary:

Paleozoic:

Thickness.

Feet. 

36

789

57

11

14

6

14

78

80

90

50

127

Depth.

Feet. 

36

825

882

893

907

913

927

1,005

1,085

1,175

1 225

1,352
LONOKE COUjSTTY. 217

A 12|-inch casing was used to a depth of 141 feet and a 10-inch casing to a depth of 365 feet. As no water was obtained, the casings 

were withdrawn and the well abandoned.

Cabot. Branner 1 has published the two following logs of wells at 

and near Cabot:

Log of well at Neeley & Neeley's ginhouse, Cabot.

[No. 2, p. 220.]

Carboniferous shale to the bottom of the well. ...........................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

39

1

6

70

Depth.

Feet. 

39

40

46

116

Log of well in NE. i 8W. i sec. 25, T. 4 N., R. 10 W.

SoU.....................................................................................

Red clay. ...............................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

2

10

16

1

8

Depth.

Feet. 

2

12

28

29

37

The log of another well, of interest chiefly because of the geologic 

information it affords, is as follows:

Log of well, known as the Nursery well, owned by J. P. Murrel, Cabot.

*

Black clay and gray calcareous sandstone, with shells; contained iron-stained gravel at

Thickness.

Feet. 

15

5

26

Depth,

Feet. 

15

20

46

Materials collected between the depths of 20 and 46 feet in this 

well consist in part of dark-gray calcareous clay, with numerous 

fragments of shells, some of which are arranged in seams and pockets, and in part of gray calcareous fossiliferous sandstone, with 

fragments of lignite. Both the clay and sandstone contain Upper 

Cretaceous fossils, probably belonging to the Nacatoch sand. (See 

p. 40.)

1 Branner, J. C., The clays of Arkansas: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 351, p. 133, 1908.
218 GEOLOGY AND GEOUND WATEBS, NOETHEASTEEN ARKANSAS.

Wells for irrigation. Wells for irrigating rice lands have been 

drilled at many places on the prairies, particularly in the vicinity 

of Carlisle, Lonoke, England, Cobb, and Scott. Detailed information 

concerning 21 of them is given in the table on pages 220-223. The 

following are logs of irrigation wells:

Log of well of W. H. Fuller, 1^\ miles southwest of Carlisle.

[No. 3, p. 220.]

Pleistocene alluvium:

Thickness.

Feet. 

25

40

75

Depth.

Feet. 

25

65

14(1

Log of well of Mr. Hubbard, 1% miles east of Carlisle.

[No. 6, p. 220.]

Pleistocene alluvium:

Gravel and bowlders, water bearing; stopped on blue clay, probably of Eocene age...

Thickness.

Feet. 

19

19

40

62

40

Depth.

Feet. 

19

38

78

14ft

180

Log of well of Robert Medendorp, 1% miles north of Carlisle.

[No. 5, p. 220.]

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: 

Soil.................................................................................

Clay................................................................................

Thickness.

Feet.

1

2

12

85

5

15

5

21

4

1

5

2

Depth.

Feet. 

1

3

15

100

105

120

125

146

150

151

156

158
LONOKE COUNTY. 219

Log of well of J. H. Sims, 8 miles southwest of Carlisle.

[No. 8, p. 220.]

Pleistocene alluvium:

Sand................................................................................

Thick-' 

ness.

Feet. 

2

18

10

40

20

41

Depth.

Feet. 

2

20

30

70

90

131

Log of well of B. F. Fromhols, 4 miles southeast of Lonolce.

[No. 21, p. 220.]

Pleistocene alluvium: 

Clay................................................................................

Clay................................. ..............................................

Eocene:

Thickness.

Feet. 

33

10

10

40

37

70

40

60

Depth.

Feet. 

33

43

53

93

130

200

240

300
CO rf*. Cn O 

& 2 

one-half inile England, northwest of. 600 England, yards

northwest ofpost 

office. 

one-half inile England, southeast of.Holland ..............

1S5 1S5 

02 02 

CD co : 

' o 

. Arkansas Cotton

Oil Co.

... ....do............ 

... R. J.Lanford.....

St. T.mi la Trnn

9 3 o ^ 

j ^ "noS J 

£ » 0 ^ 

' ^ a. 9 w g&.

: ^ 1 g i JSS-M 

i | : l.| 

1 cow- Cn*. o> oo~j co O 1 i- to 

illll

QQ9 pp p op 9 

aS.aa^ai-a' a^^a 

P * OS X-v " *" CO O>* - M ^

p'll 1 I'll fl f 

|I fi | II | i | i 

?* S-; 2, fs, 2, T a 2, 

1-" 1N51N5 1x5 IsStO CO l-> l-» 

3 33 3 33 3 3 3 

J» t-»CO 1x5 CO CO _C5 I-" 

,^5 r <s: : H : *! 

Eliner .. Morris 1-.

. Win. Zimuierma

111. Burnside, 

IWnn-is Ar rlrtnr

a

Owner............ Fuller &Morris...

y . t "* 

If

^O <D CD CO CO CD CD 

O Cn § § IO H- t 

i i g 1 § S S 

t

c 1 t- M -a n 

C 0 S 00 

H Ci Or 1 * O 

! 1 

: to 

: co Cn 

Oi Oi » 

1x5 5i n 

o o S 

Cn Cn Si 

1x5 Cn n 

j j 

a a a b a b a 

o o o o o o o 

^ W^ g ^o 3 

®-B» *~i II* P. 

PM 1 t^T ^ ^ td ** ( c PJ 

^ ^W ^* S*3 i "i 

-J P ? f ! b 

- 1: : ! ! ^ 

I l^llS £ 

^ t w tr i| i I co *" 3 3 HJ 

o : : H o : 

HJ O O ' B' | O 5 

: !=f ' i 

hJI-" l-'l-' 

5PCO cotO 

1 I- O !-" l-> 

S §g!2 g £8 % 

CD CO CD CO O QO 

CD» oojowoitu H-> 

Is3 C5 tO -*J 

Cn O Cn O 

»*». Ci Or CO 

O t-* O5 1 t-

: : : g 

CB" <! 

aas'l b aa b 

o g o o o oo o 

CD

&s

1

12

rD

D

n

3

1 r1

-"0

f?

 D

-i 

c

sl^

r^ O ~* 

4

1

p.

Nacatoch sand?

'

.«

W

02 

8

O

1 f

I

a

1

l

completed. Dale 

eleva- Approximate 

level. sea above tion 

Depth.

Diameter.

principal to Depth 

bed. water-bearing 

other to Depth 

beds. water-bearing 

O(D <* 

053 iooioao a^v a^aoao 
1

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14

15 

16

Location.

Place.

Cabot...............

Carlisle, 4J miles 

southwest of.

Carlisle, 1J miles 

north of. 

Carlisle, 1J miles east 

of. 

Carlisle, 3 miles east 

of. 

Carlisle, 3 miles 

southwest of. 

Carlisle. 3 miles north 

of. 

Carlisle, 6 miles 

southwest of. 

Carlisle, 6J miles west 

of south of. 

England, 1 mile west 

of. 

England, one-half 

mile northwest of. 

England, 600 yards 

northwest of post 

office. 

England, one-half 

mile southeast of.

T.

IN.

2N. 

2N. 

2N. 

2N. 

2N. 

3N. 

IN. 

IN.

28. 

28.

R.

7W. 

7W. 

7W. 

7W. 

TW. 

TW. 

TW. 

7W. 

TW.

9W. 

9W.

Sec.

8, W. § of 

NW. \. 

9. .........

10,SW.l..

24,NE.i..

32.........

34,W.Jof

sw.|.

6,NW.J.. 

19.........

10.........

Character of principal water-bearing bed.

Sand and gravel...

Sand and gravel... 

.....do............

Gravel............ 

.....do............ 

Sand and gravel... 

Gravel............

Level ofwater below surface.

Feet.

25 

45

44

45 

31 

28 

27 

30 

10

Yield per nrrinute.

Galls.

2,000

2,500

1,700

750 

1,500 

2,100 

2,500

Method oflift.

Steam. 

...do...

...do...

» 

Steam.

...do... 

...do...

...do...

...do... 

...do... 

...do...

...do...

Hand.

Cost of well.

S560

1,00

2,5 

520 

550 

600 

620 

2,:

35

iO

50
Wells in Lonoke County Continue

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

Location.

Place.

Jebb, 1£ miles northeast of.

Lonoke, 1J miles southwest of.

Lonoke, 1 J miles west of

Lonoke, 3 miles north of

Lonoke, 4 miles southeast of.

Lonoke, 6 miles southeast of.

Lonoke................

.....do.................

Lonoke, 1 J miles southwest of.

Lonoke, 2£ miles southeast of.

Scott (Pulaski County), 

5 miles east of (in Lonoke County).

T.

2S.

2N.

2N.

IN.

2N.

2N.

IN.

R.

*8 W^

Q W yVY 

8W.

8W.

9W.

8W.

9W.

Sec.

4..........

24, NW.J.

33,SW.i-.

11 NE ! 

,

24, NW. 1.

28, SW.J..

30.........

Owner.

J. E.Biscoe.......

W. E. & J. N.

Wheat.

W. P. Fletcher . Rowena Rice Co . .

B. F. Fromholz...

W.H. Hicks......

W. Y. Bransford..

.....do............

W. H. Fuller

.....do............

T.W. Steele......

Driller.

Layne & Bowler,

Stuttgart.

W.H. Fuller......

W. B. Johnson,

Memphis, Term.

F. A. Raprich,

Lonoke.

United Well Co.,

Stuttgart.

Owner ......... .f .

.....do............

John Graham .....

Author

Owner

W.E. W

Owner

Duff Gre

Owner ..

.. ...do. .

.....do.

. ....do. .

.....do.

.....do.

.....do.
17 

18 

19

20 

21 

22

23 

24 

25 

26

27

Location.

Place.

Jebb, 1J miles northeast of. 

Lonoke, 1J miles 

southwest of. 

Lonoke, li miles 

west of.

Lonoke. 3 miles north 

of. 

Lonoke, 4 miles 

southeast of. 

Lonoke, 6 miles 

southeast of.

.....do...............

Lonoke, 1J miles 

southwest of. 

Lonoke, 2J miles 

southeast of. 

Scott (Pulaski County), 5 miles east of 

(in Lonoke County).

T.

2S.

2N.

2N. 

IN.

2N. 

2N. 

IN.

E.

8W.

9W.

8W.

8W.

9W. 

8W. 

9W.

Sec.

4..........

24, NW. J.

33,SW.J..

ll,NE.i..

24, NW. 1. 

28,SW.J..

30.........

Character of principal water-bearing bed.

Sand and gravel... 

.....do............

Sand and gravel. . .

.....do............

Sand and gravel... 

.....do............

Level ofwater below surface.

Feet. 

10

32

24

41 

40 

35

30

30

26 

26 

12

Yield per minute.

Galls. 

1,500

1,500 

1,200

800 

700 

2,000

2,000 

2,000 

600

Method oflift.

Steam. 

...do...

...do...

Steam.

Steam. 

...do...

Cost ofwell.

$2,

500

1,500

1,<

2,1

572 

608
224 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

MISSISSIPPI COUNTY.

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Lying between Craighead and Poinsett counties on the west, Tennessee on the east, and Missouri on the north, Mississippi County 

comprises an area of 792 square miles; Mississippi River forms its 

eastern boundary. At the time of the census of 1910 the population 

of the county was 30,468. Agriculture and lumbering are the chief 

industries. The soil is very fertile and produces large crops of cotton, 

corn, and hay. Except where cleared for cultivation, the surface is 

heavily timbered, and much lumber is produced.

The county is entirely within the Mississippi lowland. The surface 

is a nearly level or gently rolling alluvial plain lying 235 to 260 feet 

above sea level and sloping slightly to the south and west. The highest land in the county, with the exception of Big Lake highlands, a 

tract of slightly elevated land 2 to 3 miles wide lying west of Big 

Lake and extending northward into Missouri, is immediately west of 

the river. Swamps, bayous, and abandoned stream channels are numerous and much of the area is subject to overflow. The greater part 

of the drainage passes westward into St. Francis River. The western 

half of the county, with the exception of Big Lake highlands, is 

included in the area known as the St. Francis Sunk Lands, where the 

bayous and swamps are separated by low ridges of sandy loam dotted 

with the so-called " sand blows " of the region. The sand blows are 

low circular or irregular mounds of clean white sand supposed to 

have been discharged from underground sources through crevices 

during the time of the New Madrid earthquake in 1811-12.

GEOLOGY.

The materials underlying the surface of this county to depths 

estimated at 150 to 225 feet are Quaternary alluvial loams, clays, 

sands, and gravels. The immediate surface materials are probably 

all of Recent age, though in some of the higher swells, such as Big 

Lake highlands west of Big Lake, deposits of Pleistocene age may 

come to the surface. It is probable that strata of Pleistocene age 

intervene between the Recent deposits and the underlying older deposits, but this has not been definitely proved. Buried logs are 

encountered in many wells.

The alluvial deposits are underlain by an estimated thickness of 

600 to 1,000 feet of Eocene sands and clays, and the latter are in 

turn underlain by Cretaceous strata. At an undetermined depth, 

probably 2,000 feet or more, the Cretaceous deposits rest on a basement of rocks believed to be of Paleozoic age.
MISSISSIPPI COUNTY. 225

WATER RESOURCES. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

Water for domestic and industrial supplies is obtained chiefly from 

wells 10 to 100 feet deep, which tap the abundantly water-bearing 

sands of the alluvial deposits the waters of which stand in the wells 1 

to 30 feet below the surface. According to the reports of well owners, 

many of the waters are hard and ferruginous, but some are soft.

Both Eocene deposits and the underlying Cretaceous deposits contain important water-bearing beds the waters of which are under sufficient hydrostatic pressure to bring them nearly to or above the surface. Water has been obtained by wells at Blytheville (1,448 feet), 

Burdette (1,495.5 feet), and at Wilson (1,567 feet), and probably 

can be obtained anywhere in the county at depths of 1,4:00 to 2,000 

feet.

LOCAL SUPPLIES.

Osceola. Osceola (population 1,679, census of 1910), the county 

seat, owns its municipal water plant and obtains water from an 800- 

foot well (No. 5, p. 228) information concerning which has been furnished by N. B. Baldwin. The water is forced to a standpipe holding 

5,000 gallons by a pump having a capacity of 500 gallons a minute. 

The standpipe pressure is 55 pounds per square inch and the direct 

pressure from the pump for fire protection is 90 pounds. The daily 

consumption is between 50,000 and 60,000 gallons.

Blytheville. T. W. Davis, mayor, states that the town of Blytheville (population 3,84:9, census of 1910) has drilled a flowing well 

1,448 feet deep (No. 1, p. 228) to supply a proposed municipal water 

plant. The Chicago Mill & Lumber Co. owns a well 520 feet deep 2 

miles west of Blytheville (No. 2, p. 228) a partial log of which follows:

Partial log of well of the Chicago Hill & Lumber Co., 2 miles west 

[Authority, W. P. Orr, chief engineer for the company.)

Soil.....................................................................................

Fine sand.. .............................................................................

Fine sand and small pebbles. ...........................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

20

10

20

10

20

10

10

10

30

30

60

60

110

10

80

30

Depth.

Feet. 

20

30

50

60

80

90

100

110

140

170

230

290

400

410

490

520

11674° WSP 399 16 15
226 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

The materials described to a depth of 140 feet are probably referable to the Quaternary alluvium, and the remainder to the bottom of 

the well are of Eocene age.

Luxora. The village of Luxora is equipped with a water-supply 

system owned by Wood Bros., information concerning which has been 

furnished by John B. Driver. Water is obtained from Mississippi 

River and is pumped to a tank having a capacity of 10,000 gallons, 

from which it is distributed to the consumers through 2 miles of 

mains. The daily consumption is 10,000 gallons.

Burdette. A flowing well, owned by the Three States Lumber Co., 

at Burdette is 1,495 feet deep (No. 4, p. 228). The following is an 

incomplete log of the well:

Incomplete log of well of the Three States Lumber Co., Burdette.

Feet.

Sand and gravel at________________ _ 123 

Sand, lignite, and clay____________________________ 123-1,060 

Clay_________________________________________ 1, 060-1, 067 

Rock at_____________________________________ 1, 398 

Fine white sand, gravel, and hard clay from the rock to the bottom of the well______________________________ 1,495.5

The sand and gravel reached at a depth of 123 feet probably represents the basal portion of the Quaternary alluvial deposits. The well 

probably passed entirely through the Eocene strata which underlie 

the Quaternary deposits and entered the Cretaceous deposits, although 

the data are not sufficient to differentiate the beds of the two ages.

Wilson. A flowing well, owned by Lee Wilson & Co., at Wilson is 

1,567 feet deep (No. 7, p. 228). The water is used in boilers at several 

large sawmills and is the principal domestic supply of the town. 

No log of the well has been obtained, but according to the informant, 

Miss June Blackwell, postmistress, rock was struck at a depth of 

1,500 feet, and the water, which flows at the surface at the rate of 208 

gallons per minute, was obtained from a coarse sand beneath this rock.

Ashport B.end, Mississippi River. In 1893 four borings were made 

at Ashport Bend, Mississippi River, Ark., 9 or 10 miles above Osceola, 

under the auspices of the Mississippi River Commission, the logs of 

which follow:
MISSISSIPPI COUNTY. 227

Log of boring No. 1, Ashport Bend, Mississippi River, Ark. 

[Elevation of mouth of boring about 32.5 feet above extreme low-water level.]

Quaternary alluvium:

Blue clay. ..........................................................................

Silt.................................................................................

Silt.................................................................................

Eocene (?):

Thickness.

Feet. 

10

10

15

13

34

9

9

36.5

27.5

Depth.

Feet. 

10

20

35

48

82

91

100

136.5

164

Log of boring No. 2, Ashport Bend, Mississippi River, Ark. 

[Elevation of mouth of boring 30 feet above low-water level.]

Quaternary alluvium:

Thickness.

Feet. 

5

15

5

10

50

15

10

Depth.

Feet. 

5

20

25

35

85

100

110

Log of boring No. 3, Ashport Bend, Mississippi River, Ark. 

[Elevation of mouth of boring 30 feet above low-water level.]

Quaternary alluvium:

Silt.................................................................................

Eocene (?):

Thickness.

Feet. 

5

11

38

11

40

9

20

12

20

Depth.

Feet. 

5

16

54

65

105

114

134

146

166

Log of boring No. 4, Ashport Bend, Mississippi River, Ark. 

[Elevation of mouth of boring 28 feet above low water level.]

Quaternary alluvium:

Blue clay ...........................................................................

F ine sand ...........................................................................

Blue clay. ..........................................................................

Very fine sand........... ..........................................................

Coarse sand and gravel. .............................................................

Fine sand ...........................................................................

Sand and gravel .....................................................................

Eocene (?): 

Fine sand................................................................. ..........

Thickness.

Feet. 

4

38

33

12

2

6

30

10

5

28

Depth.

Feet. 

4

49

75

89

95

125

135

14O

168
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.... Ferruginous 

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name of Geologic w ater-bearing 

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in WellsMississippi County.
GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS. 229 

MONBOE COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Monroe County, in the east-central part of the State, comprises 

an area of 603 square miles and has a population of 19,907 (census 

of 1910). Agriculture, lumbering, and stock raising are the chief 

industries. The agricultural products include cotton, cereals, and 

vegetables. Eice growing is rapidly becoming important. Wood 

products are manufactured at several mills at Clarendon, the county 

seat, and at Brinkley; at the latter place there is also a cottonseed-oil 

mill.

The county lies within the Advance lowland, one of the topographic 

divisions of the Gulf Coastal Plain. The surface is, in general, a 

«lightly undulating plain 170 to 210 feet above sea level, sloping 

slightly to the south. Throughout the greater part of the county 

east of White River are numerous swamps, bayous, and abandoned 

stream Channels, separated by low, rolling ridges of sand or sandy 

loam. Much of the surface is poorly drained, and the greater part 

of the aifea is wooded; there are a few small tracts of prairie-like land 

in the northeast. A relatively small area in the west-central part of 

the county lies west of White River, and about 15 square miles of this 

section is open, grass-covered prairie, forming a part of Grand Prairie 

(p. 27). White River enters the county in the northwest and forms 

the southwestern boundary for a distance of about 18 miles. Cache 

River fl<)ws from north to south in the northwestern part of the county 

and joinjs White River at Clarendon.

GEOLOGY.

Throughout the county the materials underlying the surface to 

estimated depths of 125 to 175 feet are Quaternary alluvial loams, 

clays, sands, and gravels of Recent and Pleistocene age. The Pleistocene deposits outcrop in the prairies west of White River and probably also in the higher areas east of White River and underlie the 

remainder of the county beneath Recent deposits. Although irregularly bedded, in general they grade downward from loams or fine, 

silty cla^s at the surface, through fine sands to coarse water-bearing 

sands aAd gravels at the base. The Recent deposits form the surface 

materials in the broad, rolling flood plains of White and Cache rivers.

The alluvial deposits rest unconformably on strata of Eocene age, 

the only definite data concerning which have been furnished by a well 

at Brinkley, owned by the Farrell Light, Heat & Water Co. Here 

sands, clays, and gravels, probably referable to the Eocene, were 

penetrated from a depth of 148 to 565 feet; blue clay containing 

oyster Shells was penetrated between the depths 411 and 415 feet,
230 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

and lignite between the depths 411 and 416 feet. From general 

considerations it is believed that the Eocene deposits are underlain 

at some depth, probably not exceeding 1,000 or 1,200 feet, by strata 

of Cretaceous age, and at an undetermined depth, probably, however, 

not exceeding 2,500 feet, the Cretaceous deposits are believed to rest 

on a basement of Paleozoic rocks. Both the Eocene and Cretaceous 

deposits contain water-bearing beds.

WATER RESOURCES. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

Domestic water supplies are obtained chiefly from wells 15 to 

85 feet deep, tapping the water-bearing sands and gravels of the 

alluvial deposits, the waters of which stand in the wells at depths 

of 10 to 30 feet. According to the reports of well owners, some of 

the waters are hard and some are soft, but with an occasional exception they are suitable for household and farm use. A few wells 

used for industrial supplies and for irrigation range in depth from 

100 to 150 feet, and draw their supplies from the coarse, abundantly 

water-bearing sands and gravels at the base of the alluvial deposits.

The Eocene strata, which underlie the alluvial deposits, contain 

important water-bearing beds, as shown by the yield of the 565-foot 

well at Brinkley (No. 1, p. 232). The Cretaceous deposits, which 

underlie the Eocene at an undetermined depth, probably contain 

water-bearing beds. The Eocene and Cretaceous waters are under 

sufficient hydrostatic pressure to bring them within less than 50 feet 

of the surface; flowing wells probably can not be obtained except 

in the low alluvial lands in the southern part of the county, where 

wells 1,500 feet or more in depth might overflow at the surface.

LOCAL SUPPLIES.

Brinkley. The municipal water supply of Brinkley (population 

1,740, census of 1910) is obtained from a well 565 feet deep (No. 1, 

p. 232). Information concerning the system has been furnished by 

Elmo Chaney, manager, through the mayor, E. M. Henderson. The 

water is forced into a reservoir holding 100,000 gallons by an air 

compressor having a capacity of 250 gallons a minute. From the 

reservoir the water is pumped to an elevated tank, holding 60,000 

gallons, from which it is distributed through 3 miles of mains. 

The standpipe pressure is 40 pounds per square inch, though a direct 

pressure of 100 pounds per square inch can be obtained in case of fire 

by cutting out the standpipe. The daily consumption for domestic 

purposes is 70,000 gallons. The water is slightly brackish. The 

following is a log of the well:
MONKOE COUNTY. 

Log of well of the Farrell Light, Heat & Water Co., Brinkley.

231

Pleistocene alluvium: 

Clay................................................................................

Sand................................................................................

Eocene: 

Clay................................................................................

Sand. ...............................................................................

Lignite.............................................................................

Fine sand and gravel.. . .............................................................

Fine white sand and gravel, water bearing ..........................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

25

123

2

255

6

4

80

2

68

Depth.

Feet. 

25

148

150

405

411

415

495

497

565

Other wells at Brinkley, owned by the Brinkley Ice Co., the Arkansas Cotton Oil Co., and the Brinkley Car Works, are described in the 

table on page 232.

Wells for irrigation. Several wells in the vicinity of Brinkley for 

irrigating rice lands are described in the table on page 232. They 

range in depth from 140 to 150 feet and tap the coarse water-bearing 

sands and gravels in the basal portion of the Quaternary alluvium; 

they yield from 2,000 to 3,500 gallons per minute.

Logs of two irrigation wells are as follows:

Log of well of J. D. Edmunds, near Brinkley,

[No. 5, p. 232.]

Pleistocene alluvium:

Thickness.

Feet. 

6

7.75

124

12

Depth.

Feet. 

6

13.75

137. 75

149. 75

Log of well of H. Q. Adams, 1% milos northwest of Brinkley.

[No. 7, p. 232.]

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium (approximate thickness):

Thickness.

Feet. 

13

64

70.5

Depth.

Feet. 

13

77

147.5

Log of well of Harshoerger & Staley, 2% miles southeast of Brinkley, Ark.

[No. 8, p. 232.]

Pleistocene alluvium:

Sand................................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

20

10

10

20

82

Depth.

Feet. 

20

30

40

60

142
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234 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

PHILLIPS COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Phillips County comprises an area of 692 square miles, lying south 

of Lee County and east of Monroe and Arkansas counties; Mississippi Eiver borders the county on the east. Its population was 33,535 

in 1910. Agriculture is the chief industry, but lumbering is also important. The agricultural products include cotton, cereals, and hay. 

At Helena, the county seat, there are several cotton compresses, 

cottonseed oil mills, and mills manufacturing wood products.

The three topographic subdivisions of the Mississippi embayment Crowleys Ridge, the Advance lowland, and the Mississippi 

lowland are represented in the county.

Crowleys Ridge includes a small tract of hilly, partly wooded, 

partly cultivated land in the northeastern part of the county; its 

maximum elevation is about 400 feet above sea level or about 210 feet 

above the surrounding lowlands. The east-facing slope is rugged 

and presents numerous deep, steep-sided gullies; along the western 

slope the hills are more smoothly rounded and the valleys of the 

small streams are broader and shallower. The southern terminus of 

the ridge is about 2 miles southwest of Helena.

The Advance lowland comprises the area lying between Crowleys 

Ridge and the western boundary of the county and extending southward a maximum of 14 miles from the northern boundary. The 

surface is a rolling plain 1TO to 240 feet afoove sea level, mostly 

timbered, with a general slope to the south. The creeks and bayous 

flow through poorly drained shallow valleys and are separated by 

low ridges of light to dark loam. One of the more prominent ridges, 

known as Hickory Ridge, is 20 to 30 feet higher than the surface to 

the west and extends from a short distance south of Marvel northwestward to the county line. Along the western side of Crowleys 

Ridge is a well-defined terrace, 1 to 3 miles wide, lying 30 or 40 feet 

above the lowland immediately to the west, from which it is separated by an abrupt escarpment; it is also separated from Crowleys 

Ridge on the east by a plainly defined escarpment.

The Mississippi lowland is an area 1 to 12 miles wide, bordering 

Mississippi River along the entire southeastern side of the county; a 

few square miles of the area lies east of the southern part of Crowleys Ridge and north of Helena. The lowland slopes from about 

200 feet above sea level in the northern part of the county to about 

170 feet above sea level in the south. Swamps, lakes, abandoned 

stream channels, and bayous are numerous, and much of the surface 

is heavily timbered.
PHILLIPS COTJKTY. 235

West of Crowleys Kidge the county is drained by Big Creek, a 

tributary of White Kiver, and White Kiver forms the boundary of 

the county for a distance of about 15 miles on the southwest.

GEOLOGY.

The core of Crowleys Ridge to a maximum height of 80 or 90 feet 

above the level of the Mississippi bottom is composed of Tertiary 

sands, clays, and gravels referable to the Jackson formation of the 

Eocene. Undifferentiated deposits of Eocene age underlie the ridge 

to an estimated depth of 1,200 feet or more and contain important 

water-bearing beds. The Eocene is underlain by deposits of Cretaceous age, which, at an undetermined depth, probably 3,000 feet or 

more, are believed to rest on a basement of Paleozoic rocks. The 

Cretaceous deposits contain water-bearing beds, but their character 

is not definitely known. Throughout the remainder of the county 

the Eocene and the subjacent Cretaceous deposits are present beneath 

Quaternary alluvial deposits estimated to be 120 to 200 feet th'ick.

In Crowleys Ridge the Eocene sands and clays are overlain unconformably by a known maximum thickness of 80 feet of sands and 

gravels belonging to the Lafayette formation (Pliocene?), which is 

in turn overlain by typical loess (Pleistocene), having a maximum 

measured thickness of approximately 140 feet. The loess caps the 

ridge, and materials derived from both the Lafayette formation and 

the loess mantle down over the slopes of the ridge and in most places 

completely cover the Eocene strata. It is difficult at some places to 

determine whether these mantling materials are in their original 

position or have subsequently come to their present position by redeposition or by creep. Fossil land shells are numerous in the loess.

Along the western side of Crowleys Ridge is a terrace 30 to 40 feet 

above the lowland to the west, the deposits composing which are 

probably the reworked loess, sands, and gravels of Crowleys Ridge. 

This terrace is of Pleistocene age, is younger than the loess capping 

Crowleys Ridge, and older than the alluvium underlying the lowland 

immediately to the west. The Advance lowland west of Crowleys 

Ridge is underlain to estimated depths of 125 to 200 feet by Quaternary alluvial loams, clays, sands, and gravels of Pleistocene and 

Recent age. The Pleistocene alluvium rests on Eocene strata and 

appears at the surface in the interstream areas. Although irregularly bedded, the materials in general grade downward from fine silts 

or loams at the surface through fine sands to coarse, water-bearing 

sands and gravels at the base. Recent stream alluvium immediately 

underlies the surface in the flood plains of Big Creek and White 

River. The Mississippi lowland is underlain by alluvial clays and 

water-bearing sands and gravels to estimated depths of 150 to 200 

feet.
236 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

WATER RESOURCES. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

Water for domestic supplies is derived chiefly from wells 15 to 150 

feet deep. In the Advance and Mississippi lowlands the water is 

obtained from the sands and gravels of the Quaternary alluvium and 

stands within 10 to 50 feet of the surface. In Crowleys Eidge the 

wells tap either the water-bearing sands and gravels of the Lafayette 

formation or the water-bearing sands of the underlying Eocene 

deposits. Wells on the higher parts of the ridge generally exceed 100 

feet in depth and yield waters that rise within 80 to 130 feet of the 

surface. As reported by the owners, the waters of wells less than 150 

feet deep are nearly all hard and some have a distinct taste of iron.

The Eocene strata beneath the alluvial deposits contain waterbearing beds which at Helena have been tapped by numerous wells 

450 to 575 feet deep, and by one well 400 feet deep at Barton. The 

waters rise within 15 to 40 feet of the surface of the lowland, are 

soft, and of suitable quality for all ordinary domestic and industrial 

uses. No tests have been made of the character of the Eocene waters 

at depths exceeding 575 feet or of the deeply buried Cretaceous 

waters. Waters from depths of 1,000 feet or more are probably 

under sufficient hydrostatic pressure to produce flows.

Cisterns are used in a few places on the bottom lands. Springs 

are numerous among the hills of Crowleys Eidge, especially along the 

foot of the east-facing slope; some of them are used for domestic 

and farm supplies.

LOCAL SUPPLIES.

Helena,. The city of Helena (population 8,772, census of 1910) is 

equipped with a water-supply system owned by the Helena Water 

Co., concerning which information has been furnished by T. J. 

Mitchell, superintendent. The supply is obtained from four wells 

about 500 feet in average depth, two being 8 inches and two 10 inches 

in diameter. The water comes from a bed of coarse, sharp sand between the depths 437 and 500 feet. Several air lifts, each having a 

daily capacity of 2,000,000 gallons, are used to force the water from 

the wells to a concrete reservoir holding 1,000,000 gallons, from which 

it is distributed through 18 miles of mains. The reservoir, which is 

on Crowleys Eidge west of the town, affords a pressure of 60 pounds 

per square inch. The daily consumption is 12,000,000 gallons, about 

one-third of which is used in factories.

Three samples of material from one of the wells of the Helena 

Water Co., furnished by A. Goldsberg, are on file in the office of the 

United States Geological Survey (U. S. G. S., well No. 424). One 

sample from a depth of 350 feet is a drab clay, and two from depths 

of 455 and 492 feet consist of light-gray clean, sharp quartz sand.
PHILLIPS COUNTY. 237

Detailed information concerning wells at and near Helena owned 

by the W. D. Eeeves Lumber Co. (depth 450 feet), the New South 

Oil Co. (depth 575 feet), and S. B. Carpenter (depth 575 feet), is 

given in the table on page 240.

An incomplete log of the well owned by the American Cooperage 

Co. is given below.

Log of well of American Cooperage Co., 3 miles southwest of the post-offlce

building at Helena.

Quaternary alluvium:

Eocene:

Clay................................................................................

Clay................................................................................

Thickness."

Feet.

en

110

60

12

11B

4n

135

50

Depth.

Feet.

Kf\

160

220

232

OKA

onn

525

575

0 The thicknesses were given from memory and are therefore only approximately correct.

The well was originally drilled to a depth of 700 feet, but the 

casing was pulled back and the lower 125 feet became filled with 

sand. The materials between the depths of 575 and 700 feet consisted 

of white sand with thin, interbedded layers of clay.

In 1879 two borings were made near Helena under the auspices of 

the United States Mississippi Eiver Commission. One of them 

(No. 1) was sunk on the Mississippi lowland east of Crowleys Ridge 

and shows the thickness of the alluvial deposits and the character of 

the underlying Eocene strata to a depth of 206.4 feet. The other 

(No. 2) was sunk on Crowleys Eidge and shows the nature of the 

materials composing the ridge and underlying the ridge to a depth of 

236.8 feet. The logs of these borings are repeated here with the age 

designations modified to accord with present usage.1

Log of boring No. 1 in bottom land, Helena.

Quaternary alluvium:

Eocene (Jackson formation): 

Smooth blue clay. ..................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

31

56.4

29

26.3

14.1

4.7

.8

27.2

.2

16.7

Depth.

Feet. 

31

87.4

116.4

142.7

156.8

161.5

162.3

189.5

189.7

206.4

1 Report of Profs. B. W. Hilgard and F. V. Hopkins upon the examination of specimens from borings on Mississippi River between Memphis and Vicksburg: Mississippi 

Elver Commission Ann. Rept. for 1883, 48th Cong., 1st sess., House Ex. Doc. No. 37, 

pp. 479-497; logs, pp. 485-486.
238 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS. 

Log of boring No. 2 on Crowleys Ridge, near Helena.

Pleistocene:

Yellow silt, calcareous, and full of snail shells and concretions of lime called "loess

Pliocene (?) (Lafayette formation?):

Eocene (Jackson formation):

Clayey greensand marl, with a clay-colored calcareous rock at base; fossiliferous ....

Thickness.

Feet. 

0.5

139.2

. 28.1

3.5

27.7

12.2

.2

19.9 

5.5

Depth.

Feet. 

0.5

139.7

167.8

171.3

199

211.2

211.4

231.3 

236.8

The molluscan fossils from this well between the depths 171.3 and 

236.3 feet, as redetermined by Harris,1 are:

Helena (boring No. 2) : Dentalium (very nearly smooth, but with traces of 

longitudinal striation) ; Volutilithes petrosus (fragments) ; Corbula wailesiana; 

Corbula sp.: Phos Mill var.; Pseudoliva vetusta; Pleurotoma denticula; Actseon; 

Natica.

According to Harris, these fossils indicate the Jackson age of the 

containing beds.

In the same boring numerous foraminifers were obtained between 

the depths 229.5 and 236.8 feet. These were identified and listed by 

F. V. Hopkins.2

The following is the record of a boring at Helena, Ark., made in 

1904, under the direction of Capt. E. W, Van C. Lucas, Corps of 

Engineers, United States Army, by W. M. Rees, assistant engineer:

Log of a boring on tlie levee at Helena, Ark.

Quaternary alluvium:

Eocene (?) (Jackson formation?):

Hard brown clay with large pebbles, and with a layer of hard yellow clay at base'. . .

Hard dark-brown clay ..............................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 16 . 

26 

6 

20 

8 

1.6

1.2 

1.1 

3

.6 

1.5 

19.4 

1.4 

.2 

2 

1.2 

3.6 

1 

5.7 

1.5

Depth.

Feet. 

16 

42 

48 

_ 68 

76 

77.6

78.8 

79.9 

82.9 

83.5 

85 

104.4 

105.8 

106 

108 

109.2 

112.8 

113.8 

119.5 

121

1 Harris, Gilbert D., The geology of the Mississippi einbayment with special reference 

to the State of Louisiana: Louisiana Geol. Survey, pt. 6, 1902, p. 22 (footnote). 

2 Hilgard, B. W., and Hopkins, F. V., op. cit., pp. 485-488.
PHILLIPS COUNTY. 239

The preceding log, together with the logs of 11 other Government 

wells bored near the river at Helena and ranging in depth from 50.8 

to 90 feet, have been furnished by Capt. Lucas. The elevation of the 

ground at the points where borings were made ranges from 163 to 

192 feet above sea level; all penetrated alluvial sands and clays ranging in total thickness from 50.5 to 89 feet, beneath which hard, green, 

gray, blue, or dark-brown clay was encountered. The level at which 

the hard clay was struck ranged from about 99 to 112 feet above sea 

level. The clay, which is believed to be the upper eroded surface of 

the Jackson formation (Eocene), corresponds to the uppermost layer 

of the Eocene in the log just given.

Barton. At Barton, 13 miles west of Helena, a well drilled to a 

depth of 926 feet yielded hard water obtained in Quaternary sand and 

gravel at a depth of 110 feet, and soft water in Eocene sand at a depth 

of 400 feet. A layer of sandstone was penetrated at a depth of 800 

feet and at 926 feet the drill was broken in attempting to penetrate 

a layer of hard rock. The well was then abandoned and another 

well was drilled to the 400-foot stratum (No. 1, p. 240) from which 

an abundant supply of water was obtained.

Southland. In the vicinity of Southland, which is on the terrace 

bordering Crowleys Ridge on the west, are several wells ranging in 

depth from 130 to 140 feet. The log of a well owned by William 

Eussell is as follows (No. 12, p. 240) :

Log of well of William Russell, Southland.

Pleistocene alluvium:

Quicksand. .........................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

12

55

65

3

Depth.

Feet. 

12

67

132

135
Wells in Phillips County. 

1

2 

3

4 

5

6

7 

8 

9

10 

11

12 

13

14

Location.

Place.

Barton (at cotton mill). 

Helena................

Helena, 1 mile south of 

post office.

Helena, 3 miles southwest of post office.

Helena, 3 miles south 

of (Spanish grant on 

private survey No. 

496). 

Helena, 1 mile south of 

post office (O'Connor 

Street and St. Louis, 

Iron Mountain & 

Southern Ey.). 

Helena, 5 miles west of.

Helena, 8 miles northwest of.

.....do..................

North Creek, one-fourth 

mile northeast of.

Wabash, one-quarter 

mile west of.

T.

2S.

}.......

IS.

IS.

2S.

3S.

R.

5E.

3E.

4E. 

2E.

3E.

Sec.

9,SE.i...

............

23,SE.|.. 

31,NW.i.

Owner.

Helena Water Co. 

W. D. Reeves 

Lumber Co.

/American Cooper- 

\ age Co.

S. B. Carpenter... 

New South Oil Co.

C. R.Coolidge.... 

Dr. Horner .......

St. Louis, Iron 

Mountain & 

Southern Ry. Co.

G. F. Poster, Lagrange, Ark. 

William Russell...

J. L. Kendall. ....

Howe Lumber Co.

Driller.

Corless Well Co., 

Memphis, Tenn.

W. P. Maingault, 

Memphis, Tenn.

W. B. Johnson, 

Memphis, Tenn.

J. A. Thedeis, 

Clarksdale, Miss.

H. H. Rittmann, 

Stuttgart, Ark. 

.....do............

David Phillips, 

Lagrange, Ark.

W. E. Winters, 

Harrisburg, Ark.

Authorit

T. I. Mitch

JDrffler. ...

Dale Wels

R.T.Doug

Driller.. .

.....do...

J. R. Steph

chief en

neer. 

.....do...

.....do...

O. D. How
hFt I

V 

CO

1

2

3 

4 

5

6

7 

8

9 

10 

11

12 

13 

14

Location.

Place.

Barton (at cotton 

mill).

Helena, 1 mile south 

of post office. 

Helena,3 miles southwest of post office. 

Helena. 3 mileL south 

of (Spanish grant 

on private survey 

No. 496). 

Helena, 1 mile south 

of post office (O'- 

Connor Street and 

St. Louis, Iron 

Mountain & Southern By. 

Helena, 5 miles west 

of. 

Helena, 8 miles northwest of.

.....do..............

North Creek, onefourth mile northeast of.

Wabash, one-quarter 

mile west of.

T.

2S.

IS.

1 S. 

2S. 

3S.

R.

5E.

3E.

4E. 

2E. 

3E.

Sec.

9,SE.J...

23, SE. £..

31, NW. £.

Character of principal water-bearing bed.

Sand..............

.....do............

Level ofwater below surface.

Feet.

9fl

18 

20

9ft

27 

38

4 

130

25

38

7

Yield per minute.

Gallons.

250?

36

7 

7

j- 45

Method oflift.

Air....

...do..

Steam. 

...do..

Hand. 

Wind.

J.......

Hand.

Gas...

Steam.

"3 

+»

$2,500

V 

2,200

43 

li

........

i

3 

150

5

0

0

5 
242 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

POINSETT COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Poinsett County, situated south of Craighead County and east 

of the northern third of Jackson County, embraces an area of 721 

square miles. Its population at the time of the census of 1910 

was 12,791. The chief industries are agriculture and lumbering. 

The agricultural products include cotton, corn, rice, and hay, and 

such fruits as apples, peaches, and grapes. Rice is grown chiefly on 

the prairie lands west of Crowleys Ridge. There are numerous 

sawmills in the county. At Harrisburg are several mills which 

manufacture wood products.

The county includes parts of the three topographic subdivisions 

of the Mississippi embayment, Crowleys Ridge, the Advance lowland, 

and the Mississippi lowland.

Crowleys Ridge is a belt of hilly, partly timbered land, 1 to 3 

miles wide, extending in a north-south direction slightly west of 

the center of the county, and separated from the adjacent plains by 

sharply defined escarpments; the top of the ridge is 350 to 400 feet 

above sea level or 100 to 150 feet above the lowlands to the east 

and west.

West of Crowleys Ridge is a nearly level or gently rolling plain 

which forms part of the Advance lowland; it is 230 to 290 feet above 

sea level and slopes slightly to the south. The plain is drained by 

L'Anguille River, which heads just north of the county and flows 

southward west of Crowleys Ridge and by Bayou de Vue, which 

flows from north to south in the western part of the county. The 

interstream areas present irregularly distributed tracts of open, 

grass-covered prairies, separated by slightly lower wooded lands. 

The broad, shallow, flood plains of the streams are in part swampy 

and, except where cleared for cultivation, are heavily timbered.

East of Crowleys Ridge is the gently undulating, heavily timbered plain of the Mississippi lowland, lying 225 to 240 feet above 

sea level, sloping slightly to the west and south. This part of the 

county is drained by St. Francis River, which flows in a sinuous 

course in a general southerly direction in the eastern part of the 

county. Much of the surface is swampy, and bayous and ponds are 

common.
POINSETT COUNTY. 243 

GEOLOGY.

The core of Crowleys Kidge, to a maximum height of 85 to 100 feet 

above the level of the lowlands, is composed of irregularly bedded 

sands and clays, with occasional interstratified layers of lignite, referable to the Wilcox and Claiborne formations of the Eocene; the 

former outcrops at the base of the ridge from the northern boundary 

southward to about the middle of the county, and the latter appears 

at the base of the ridge for the remainder of the distance to the southern boundary. Undifferentiated Eocene deposits containing important water-bearing beds underlie the ridge to an estimated depth of 

500 feet or more and extend out to the east and west beneath the alluvial deposits of the lowlands, the thickness of which ranges from 125 

to 225 feet.

The Eocene deposits are underlain by strata of Cretaceous age 

which also contain water-bearing beds. At an unknown depth, estimated, however, to be between 2,000 and 3,000 feet, the Cretaceous 

deposits rest on a basement of older rocks, probably of Paleozoic age.

In Crowleys Ridge the Eocene strata are overlain unconformably 

by a few feet to 40 feet of sands and gravels, locally indurated to hard 

conglomerates, belonging to the Lafayette formation (Pliocene?); 

these materials are water bearing in many places. The Lafayette is 

in turn overlain in part by deposits of loess (Pleistocene) reaching 

20 feet or more in thickness, which, where present, forms the capping 

material of the ridge. In this county the loess has in places been 

removed from the crest of the ridge by erosion, leaving the gravels 

of the Lafayette as the capping material.

In the Advance lowland the Eocene strata are overlain by an estimated thickness of 125 to 175 feet of Quaternary alluvium of Pleistocene and Recent age. The Pleistocene deposits rest unconformably 

on the Eocene strata and outcrop at the surface in the interstream 

areas; they are irregularly bedded, but in general grade downward 

from loams and silty clays at the surface through fine sands to coarse, 

water-bearing sands and gravels at the base. The Recent alluvium 

immediately underlies the flood plains of the present streams. The 

Mississippi lowland is underlain by 150 to 225 feet of Quaternary 

alluvial loams, clays, and water-bearing sands and gravels of undifferentiated Pleistocene and Recent age.

WATER RESOURCES. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

Ordinary supplies. Water for domestic and industrial uses is obtained chiefly from wells 10 to 160 feet deep; those on the lowlands 

tap the abundantly water-bearing sands and gravels of the Quater-
244 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

nary alluvial deposits, the waters of which stand 3 to 50 feet below 

the surface. As reported by the well owners, some of the waters are 

soft, some are hard, and some are ferruginous. The wells in Crowleys 

Eidge tap either the water-bearing sands and gravels of the Lafayette formation or the water-bearing sands of the underlying Eocene 

deposits.

The beds of sand that compose in part the Eocene deposits beneath 

Crowleys Eidge and underlying the alluvial deposits of the lowlands 

to an estimated depth of 500 feet or more contain water-bearing beds 

of importance, the waters of which are under sufficient hydrostatic 

pressure to lift them within less than 50 feet of the surface, except in 

the higher parts of Crowleys Eidge; in the Mississippi lowland they 

rise within a few feet of the surface. The deeply buried Cretaceous 

water-bearing beds are under hydrostatic pressure, which in the Mississippi lowland is sufficient to cause strong flows at the surface, as 

shown by the 2,007-foot well at Marked Tree (No. 3, p. 248).

There are a few small springs in Crowleys Eidge, but these do not 

form an important source of water.

Irrigation. Wells for irrigating rice lands in the vicinity of Waldenburg, Weiner, and Whitehall (Nos. 11-19, p. 248) range in depth 

from 75 to 156 feet and yield 300 to 3,000 gallons a minute. The cost 

of drilling the wells and installing machinery ranges from $500 to 

$2,800, the average cost based on seven wells being at the rate of $787 

for each 1,000 gallons of yield a minute, or at the rate of 79 cents for 

each gallon of yield a minute.

LOCAL SUPPLIES.

Harrisburg. The following is the log of a 181-foot well at Harrisburg (population 942, census of 1910); this well is on Crowleys Eidge 

at the Vandiver Hotel.

Log of well at Vandiver Hotel, Harrisburg.

Pliocene (?) (Lafayette formation):

Eocene (Claiborne formation?):

Thickness.o

Feet. 

20

80

SO

Depth.

Feet. 

20

100

180

o Thicknesses approximate.

Mr. C. H. Winters, a well driller of Harrisburg, has furnished the 

following log of a well that he drilled on the lowland about onequarter mile west of the foot of Crowleys Eidge at Harrisburg:
POINSETT COUNTY. 

Log of well in western part of the town of Harrisburg.

245

Quaternary alluvium:

Eocene (Wilcox formation):

Dark-blue sandy clay containing small fragments of leaves, lignite, shells (?), and

Thickness.

Feet. 

40

25

40

50

30

Depth.

Feet. 

40

65

105

155

185

The following incomplete log of a well 11 miles northeast of Harrisburg, owned by C. Ripley, has been prepared from a set of well 

borings, which were furnished by the driller, C. H. Winters, and are 

now on file in the office of the United States Geological Survey (well 

No. 1542).

Incomplete log of well of C. Ripley, 11 miles northeast of Harrisburg.

Quaternary alluvium:

Chrmksof drab, slickensided clay....... ............. ................... . . .......

Thickness.

Feet. 

20

15

(?)

(?)

Depth.

Feet. 

20

35

39

42

Marked Tree. A flowing well, 2,007 feet deep, owned by the town 

of Marked Tree (population 2,026, census of 1910), was completed in 

1911 (No. 3, p. 248). No municipal water-supply system had been 

installed at the time the information was obtained. Several wells, 

approximately 400 feet deep, have been drilled at this place (Nos. 

4, 5, 6, 7, p. 248). The log of one of them follows:

Log of well of Chapman & Dewey Lumber Co., Marked Tree.

[No. 7, p. 248.]

Quaternary alluvium:

Eocene:

Thickness.

Feet. 

27 

193

12 

63 

71 

32

Depth.

Feet. 

27 

220

232 

295 

366 

398
246 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Weiner. Mr. John White, a driller, has furnished the following 

log of a well owned by the St. Louis Southwestern Kailway at 

Weiner (population 232, census of 1910):

Log of well of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway at Weiner.

[Soil and Pleistocene alluvium]: 

Soil................................................ ... ... .......................

Sand................................................................................

Very hard clay. ..................................................................... 

Gravel, becoming coarser as the depth increases, water bearing ......................

Thickness.

Feet. 

0.5

2

10

16

22

1 

50

Depth.

Feet. 

0.5

2.5

12.5

28.5

50.5

51.5 

101.5

Wells for irrigation. Wells for irrigating rice lands have been 

drilled in the vicinity of Waldenburg, Weiner, and Whitehall (Nos. 

11-19, p. 248); the logs of six irrigation wells follow:

Log of well of Scruggs & Swearengin, 2 miles east of north of Waldenburg.

[No. 11, p. 248.J

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: 

Soil.................................................................................

Coarse sand grading down into gravel containing scattered fragments of lignite, water

Thickness.

Feet. 

3

9

36.5

60

Depth.

Feet. 

3

12

48.5

108.5

Partial log of well of E. L. Jackson, %\ miles southwest of Waldenburg.

[No. 12, p. 248.]

Pleistocene alluvium:

Thickness.

Feet. 

25

30

46

Depth.

Feet. 

25

55

101

Log of well of 8. F. Wells, J. mile north of Weiner.

[No. 14, p. 248.]

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium:

Eock.... ............................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

1

30

122

.5

Depth.

Feet. 

1

31

153

153.5
POINSETT COUNTY. 247

Log of well of Chas. Thompson, 1\ miles south of Weiner.

[No. 15, p. 248.]

Pleistocene alluvium:

Yellow sand..... ..............................................

Fine sand, becoming coarser to a coarse gravel at base, water bea 

of 27 feet.......................................... ..........

Coarse gravel with cobbles 6 to 8 inches in diameter, water bea

......................

ring below the depth

Thickness.

Feet. 

4 

10 

10

76 

56

Depth.

Feet. 

4 

14 

24

100 

156

Log of well of Frank Housman, 3 miles northeast of Weiner.

[No. 16, p. 248.]

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium:

Thickness.

Feet. 

2

10

18

45

Depth.

Feet. 

2

12

30

75

Log of well of B. A. McKinny, 1\ miles

[No. 18, p. 248.]

west of Whitehall.

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: 

Soil..........................................................

Fine sand, becoming coarser and grading downward into fine $ ravel, water bearing . .

Thickness.

Feet. 

2

18

6

14±

80 ±

Depth.

Feet. 

2

20

26

40?

120
Wells in Poinsett County.

1

2

3 

4

5 

6

7

8 

9

10 

11

12 

13 

14

15 

16

17 

18

19

Location.

Place.

Harrisburg, 1J miles 

northeast of.

.....do.................

.....do................. 

.....do.................

Marked Tree, f mile 

northwest of post 

office. 

Marked Tree, 7 miles 

southeast of. 

Trumann ..............

.....do.................

Waldenburg, 2 miles 

east of north of.

Waldenburg, 2J miles 

southwest of. 

Waldenburg, 1J miles 

southeast of. 

Weiner, 1 mile north of.

Weiner, 1$ miles south of 

Weiner, 3 miles northeast of. 

Weiner, 1 mile east of. . Whitehall, 1J miles 

west of. 

Whitehall, 1 mile 

southeast of.

T.

UN. UN.

UN. UN.

UN.

ION. 

12 N.

12 N.

UN.

UN.

UN.

12 N.

UN.

12 N.

UN. 

ION.

ION.

R.

6E.

6E.

6E. 

6E.

6E.

7E.

5E.

5E.

2E.

IE. 

2E. 

2E.

2E.

2E.

2E. 

3E.

3E.

Sec.

34, NE. 1 

SE.l.

12,NE.l..

18,NW.i.

35, SE.J.. 

30, SE.l.. 

28.........

17, NW. 1. 

21, SE.J..

4, NW.l.. 

22.........

Owner.

C. W. Spencer ....

Marked Tree 

Lumber Co.

Chicago Mill & 

Lumber Co., 

Blytheville. 

Chapman & Dewey Lumber Co.

E. B. Boyd.Monmouth,m. 

Springfield Lumber & Cooperage 

Co. 

.....do............

Scruggs & Swearengrn, Mooreville, Ind.

S.F. Wells. ......

Chas. Thompson.. 

Frank Housman . .

A. L. Wood....... 

B. A. McKinney..

Driller.

W. B. Johnson, 

Memphis, Term.

Johnson & Fleming, Memphis, 

Term.

Henry Elliott.....

F. L. Casper, 

Weiner. 

J. P. Nicholas, 

Stuttgart. 

F.L.Casper......

F. L. Casper...... 

W. C. Winters, 

Harrisburg.

Author

W. B. J

son, M

phis, Te

D. P. M

and T

Staton. 

Frank 

mer,Tyr

U.C.Al

.....do.

Driller

.....do.

.....do.

.....do.

.....do.

a Elevation about 100 feet above the level of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain 

6 Shepard, E. M., Underground waters of Missouri: U. S. Geol. Survey Wat
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9 

10 

11

12 

13 

14 

15 

16

17 

18

19

Location.

Place.

Harrisburg..........

Harrisburg, 1* milas 

northeast of.

.....do..............

.....do..............

.....do..............

Marked tree, f mile 

northwest of post 

office. 

Marked tree, 7 miles 

southeast of.

.. ...do. ..............

Waldenburg, 2 miles 

east of north of.

Waldenburg, 2* 

miles southwest of.

miles southeast of. 

Weiner, 1 mile north 

of. 

Weiner, 1J miles 

south of. 

Weiner, 3 miles 

northeast of.

Weiner, 1 mile east of 

Whitehall, 1J miles 

west of. 

Whitehall, 1 mile 

southeast of.

T.

11 N.

UN.

UN.

UN.

UN.

ION. 

12 N.

12 N.

UN. 

UN.

UN.

12 N.

UN.

12 N.

UN.

ION. 

ION.

R.

6E.

6E.

6E.

6E.

6E.

7E. 

5E.

5E.

2E.

IE. 

2E. 

2E. 

2K. 

2E.

2E. 

3E.

3E.

Sec.

34, NE. i 

SE. i.

12,NE.J..

18, NW. 1.

35, SE.l.. 

30, SE.J.. 

28.........

17, NW. J. 

21, SE.l..

4.NW.J..

Character of principal water-bearing bed.

Gray sand

Sand.............. 

Sand and gravel. .

.....do............

Gravel............

Gravel............ 

Sand and gravel... 

Sand..............

Sand and gravel...

Level ofwater above or below surface.

Feet. 

-81

07

+26 

1.5

- 3 

_ 2

-15

-28.5 

-25

-32 

-27 

-28

-30 

-40

Yield per minute.

Galls.

300

300(7) 

3

3,000 

1,400

2,000 

2,500 

300

2,000 

800

Method oflift.

Hand. 

Flows.

Pump

Steam. 

Wind.

Steam.

...do.. 

...do..

...do.. 

...do.. 

Gas...

Steam.

Cost ofwell.

$13

Cosofmachi

).50

".:::".:"

2,i

M 

M 

M

,.

900 

i

soo

WO 

WO 

$50 

0

225
250 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

PRAIRIE COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Prairie County, in the east-central part of the State, comprises an 

area of 675 square miles. Its population was 13,853 in 1910. Agriculture, stock raising, and lumbering are the chief industries. The 

agricultural products include vegetables, hay, cotton, cereals, and 

fruits, such as apples, peaches, pears, plums, and berries. Eice is 

grown extensively and the crop is rapidly increasing in importance.

The county is included within the Advance lowland (see p. 25), 

the surface of which is in general a gently undulating or rolling 

plain lying 200 to 240 feet above sea level, and sloping slightly to 

the south. White Eiver flows a little east of south across the 

county and leaves it about 10 miles north of the southeastern corner ; Cache Eiver forms the eastern boundary for a few miles. The 

channel of White Eiver is near the western edge of the flood plain, 

and all the county east of this river is in the heavily timbered flood 

plain of either White or Cache Eiver, an area characterized by numerous bayous, lakes, and abandoned stream channels. West of 

White Eiver and north of the Chicago, Eock Island & Pacific Eailway much of the surface is timbered land lying a few feet higher 

than the flood plains and slightly lower than the prairies. South 

of this railroad and west of the wooded belt bordering White Eiver 

are broad stretches of grass-covered prairie separated by patches and 

belts of slightly lower timbered lands.

The principal western tributaries of White Eiver, in order from 

north to south, are Cypress Creek and its eastward extension, Bayou 

Des Arc, Wattensaw Bayou, and Bayou Lagrue. Bayou Two Prairie 

forms the western boundary for a distance of a few miles in the 

extreme southwest.

GEOLOGY.

Quaternary alluvial deposits of Pleistocene and Recent age immediately underlie the surface of the county to depths of 125 to 180 

feet, and rest unconformably on strata of Eocene age. The Pleistocene deposits immediately overlie the Eocene strata and outcrop in 

the interstream areas; they are irregularly bedded but in general 

grade downward from fine silty loams and clays at the surface through 

fine sands to coarse water-bearing sands and gravels at the base. 

Fossil logs have been encountered in well borings at several places in 

the county. Loams, clays, sands, and gravels of Recent age constitute 

the flood-plain materials of the present streams.
PRAIRIE COUNTY. 251

Only meager data are available concerning the character of the 

Eocene strata underlying the alluvial deposits, but from general 

considerations it is believed that they consist predominantly of sands 

and clays, and doubtless they contain water-bearing beds. The 

Eocene strata are believed to be underlain by strata of Cretaceous 

age, also in part water bearing, which at an undetermined depth, 

probably not exceeding 1,200 or 1,500 feet, rest upon a basement of 

Paleozoic rocks.

WATER RESOURCES. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

Ordinary supplies. Water for domestic and industrial uses is 

obtained chiefly from wells 25 to 180 feet deep that tap the abundantly water-bearing sands and gravels of the Quaternary alluvial 

deposits, the waters of which stand 10 to 55 feet below the surface. 

According to the reports of well owners, some of the waters are hard, 

some are soft, and an occasional one is ferruginous; in general they 

are of suitable quality for ordinary uses. Well waters having a salty 

taste have been reported from the northern part of the county in the 

western half of T. 5 N., K. 5 W.

The waters of the undifferentiated Eocene and Cretaceous deposits, 

which intervene between the alluvial deposits and the deeply buried 

Paleozoic basement rocks, may be obtained by means of wells; ranging 

in depth from 200 to an estimated maximum depth of 1,200 or 1,500 

feet. These are under hydrostatic pressure sufficient to bring them 

within less than 50 feet of the surface but not sufficient to cause flows.

Irrigation. Bice culture was begun in this county shortly after the 

grain was first successfully grown in the adjoining county of Lonoke 

and the industry rapidly increased in importance. Water for irrigating the rice lands is obtained from wells 100 to 180 feet deep tapping the water-bearing beds of the alluvial deposits. The water 

level in these wells is 30 to 55 feet below the surface, and the water 

is lifted to the surface by means of pumps of large capacity. The 

cost of sinking the wells and installing pumping plants varies from 

$750 to $2,200 per well, and the yield ranges from 700 to 3,000 gallons a minute. The average cost based on six wells is at the rate of 

$1,180 for each 1,000 gallons of yield a minute, or $1.18 for each gallon of yield a minute. Detailed information in regard to nine irrigation wells is given in the table on page 254.
252 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

LOCAL SUPPLIES.

Hazen. The town of Hazen (population, 687, census of 1910) is 

equipped with a water-supply system owned by the Hazen Power & 

Light Co., information concerning which has been furnished by 

Messrs. W. H. and W. L. Fox. Water is obtained from two wells 

60 and 80 feet deep, respectively (Nos. 13 and 14, p. 254). The water, 

which is hard, is lifted by a pump having a daily capacity of 15,000 

gallons and is distributed through 8,000 feet of mains.

The standpipe pressure is 30 pounds per square inch and the direct 

pressure from the pumps for fire protection is 80 pounds per square 

inch. The daily consumption is 13,000 gallons for domestic use and 

2,000 gallons for manufacturing.

Des Arc. Logs of two wells at Des Arc (population 1,061, census 

of 1910) are as follows:

Log of well of Peter Deforest, Des Arc.

[No. 2, p. 254.]

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: 

Soil.................................................................................

Clay................................................................................

"Seepy " earth. .....................................................................

Blue clay. ..........................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

3.5

35

8

10

7.5

14

Depth.

Feet. 

3.5

38.5

46.5

56.5

64

78

Log of well owned by J. W. Pettey, Des Arc.

[No. 3, p. 254.]

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: 

Soil.................................................................................

Clay................................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

I

3

25

10

8

20

Depth.

Feet. 

1

4

29

39

47

52

72

Wells for irrigation. Wells for irrigating rice lands have been 

drilled in the vicinity of Devall Bluff, Hazon, and Ulm, detailed 

information concerning some of which is given in the table on page 

254. The following are logs of two irrigation wells:
PKAIEIE COUNTY. 253

Log of well of Thomas Bros., 3% miles west of Devall Bluff.

[No. 10, p. 254.]

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: 

Soil.................. ...............................................................

Blue clay. ..........................................................................

Eocene:

Thickness.

Feet. 

1

59

33

22

61

3

Depth.

Feet. 

1

60

93

115

176

179

Log of well of Mr. Avery, 2 miles southeast of Hasen.

[No. 15, p. 254.]

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium:

Fine sand ...........................................................................

Sand and gravel, water bearing; stopped on blue clay which is probably of Eocene

Thickness.

Feet. 

25

46

29

6

15

13

42

Depth.

Feet. 

25

71

100

106

121

134

176
Wells in Prairie County.

1

2

3 

4 

5

6

7 

8

9 

10

11 

12 

13

14 

15

16 

17 

18 

19 

20

Location.

Place.

Carlisle (Lonoke Co.), 

8 miles southeast of 

(in Prairie Co.). 

Des Arc, $ mile north 

of post office. 

D es Arc. ............... 

. ....do. ................

Des Arc, $ mile southeast of post office. 

Devall Bluff. ..........

.....do.................

Devall Bluff, J mile 

south of. 

Devall Bluff..... ......

Devall Bluff, 3J miles 

west of. 

Devall Bluff, 5 miles 

southwest of. 

Devall Bluff, 8i miles 

south of.

.....do.................

Hazen, 2 miles southeast of. 

Hazen, 2J miles west of.

Hazen, 8 miles southwest of. 

Hazen, 6 miles southwest of. 

Hazen, 8 miles southwest of. 

Ulm, 1 mile west of. ....

T.

IN.

4N.

"i'N."

IN.

2N. 

IN. 

IN. 

IN. 

IS.

R.

6W. 

5W. 

"*5W."

5W.

6W. 

6W. 

6W. 

6W. 

4W.

Sec.

8,SW.J...

"i4,"NEYjI'.

24,E.i....

23,NW.J. 

18,SW.|.. 

6..........

18,SW.J..

Owner.

Hubbard&Sons..

Peter Deforest . 

J. W. Pettey......

McQueen & Fink. .

F. Gates..........

W. B.Coyle......

Thomas Bros., 

Hazen. 

Mrs. Geo. Lawman, Hazen. 

Chas. Strohl, 

Hazen. 

Hazen Power & 

Light Co.

E. W. Crouch..... 

W.A.Shaw.......

T. E. Downs, Carlisle. 

C. H. Chapman . . .

A. J. Liedtke, 

Stuttgart.

Driller.

J.W. Pettey...... 

Owner............

J.W. Pettey...... 

.....do............

Wm. Guntzenhouser, Stuttgart. 

Ralph Canyon, 

Hazen. 

Wheeler & Pettey. Devall Bluff. 

J. J. Paduska.....

.....do............

W. M. Scheck, 

Memphis, Tenn. 

Layne & Bowler, 

Stuttgart. 

J. E. Gidrey, 

Rayne, La.

Layne & Bowler, 

Stuttgart.

Author

W. O. H

bard.

Owner.

.....do..

.....do..

J.H. McQ

Clay Tho

Hazen.

.....do..

W.L. Fo

.....do..

E. G. No

Brinkle

Owner ..

.....do..

.....do..

E. L. C

man.

a Elevation about 40 feet above low-water level of White River. 6 Elevation 
1

2

3

4

5

6

7 

8

9 

10

11

12 

13 

14 

15

16 

17

18 

19 

20

Location.

Place.

Carlisle(Lonoke Co.), 

8 miles southeast 

of (in Prairie Co.). 

Des Arc. J mile north 

of post office.

.....do...............

Des Arc,"J mile southeast of post office.

.....do...............

Devall Bluff, J mile 

south of.

Devall Bluff, 3J miles 

west of.

Devall Bluff, 5 miles 

southwest of.

Devall Bluff, 8J miles 

south of.

.....do...............

Hazen, 2 miles southeast of. 

Hazen,2J miles westoi 

Hazen, 8 miles southwest of. 

Hazen, 6 miles southwest of. 

Hazen, 8 miles southwest of. 

Ulm, 1 mile west of ...

T.

IN.

4N.

4N.

IN.

2N. 

IN.

IN. 

IN. 

IS.

R.

6W. 

5W.

5W.

5W.

6W. 

6W.

6W. 

6W. 

4 W.

Sec.

8,SW.J..

14,NE.J..

24,E.J....

23, NW. }. 

18,SW.J..

6..........

Character of principal water-bearing bed.

Sand and gravel. . . 

.....do............

.....do............

Gray sand........

Sand and gravel...

Sand and gravel. . .

.....do............

Level ofwater below surface.

Feet. 

28

35

35

40 

20

50

47 

48

55

47J 

34

35 

33

40

Yield per minute.

Galls. 

4,000

........

1,800 

3,000

200 

250

700 

1,800

700 

2,000 

1,200

Method oflift.

Hand. 

...do...

Steam.

Steam.

Steam.

...do...

Electricity. 

Steam.

Air....

Steam.

Cost ofwell.

$5,

50

5 

55

125

1,*

6

4(

600 

1,300

600 

1,200

2,:

Coomac

00

) 

!50

10

0

1

00
256 GEOLOGY AND GBOUND WATEBS, NOETHEASTEROST ABKANSAS.

PULASKI COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Pulaski County, in the central part of the State, has an area of 747 

square miles and a population, according to the census of 1910, of 

86,751. Only that part of the county lying east of Arkansas Kiver 

and east of the Ozark province is treated in detail in this report. 

Agriculture is the chief industry and the principal crops are cottpn, 

cereals, vegetables, and hay

The greater part of the county lying west of the St. Louis, Iron 

Mountain & Southern Railway is included in the Ozark province, an 

area characterized by hills and ridges which trend in general east 

and west, the summits of which are 500 to 1,000 feet or more above 

sea level. The remainder of the county is part of the Gulf Coastal 

Plain, here topographically subdivisible into the upland west of the 

Arkansas River bottom, a small area of Tertiary upland near Jacksonville, and the Advance lowland. The hills of the upland west of 

Arkansas River are 400 to 500 feet above sea level, but the upland 

has been strongly dissected by Fourche and Loran creeks and their 

tributaries.

The Arkansas River flood plain forms the greater part of the Advance lowland, a flat or gently rolling, heavily timbered plain, which 

stands 230 to 250 feet above sea level, and in which swamps, lakes, 

abandoned stream channels, and bayous are numerous. Arkansas 

River crosses the county, flowing southeastward to a point a few miles 

beyond Little Rock, where its general course becomes southerly.

In the northern part of the lowland small interstream areas rise a 

few feet above the flood-plain level.

GEOLOGY.

Paleozoic rocks of Ordovician and Carboniferous age outcrop in the 

Ozark province. They are separated from the deposits of the Coastal 

Plain by a steep southeastward-dipping erosion escarpment which 

trends northeast-southwest within a few miles west of the St. Louis, 

Iron Mountain & Southern Railway. Along the line of this escarpment the upper eroded surface of the Paleozoic rocks passes under 

the deposits of the Coastal Plain and extends southeastward beneath 

them.

Strata of Tertiary age, including the Midway formation (Eocene) 

and overlying undifferentiated Eocene deposits, outcrop in the Coastal 

Plain upland west of Arkansas River. The Midway formation, 

which consists of 25 feet or more of limestones, calcareous sandstones, 

sands, and clays, outcrops in a narrow area along the northwestern 

margin of the Coastal Plain, where it rests unconformably on Pale-
PULASKI COUNTY. 257

ozoic rocks. The undifferentiated Eocene deposits, which consist of 

unconsolidated sands and clays, overlie the Midway formation and 

come to the surface in the upland southeast of the Midway area and 

also in a small area in the vicinity of Jacksonville, in the northeastern 

part of the county. Two to 5 miles south of Little Eock is a hill composed of igneous rocks which project through the Tertiary deposits. 

The summit of the hill is about 500 feet above sea level.

The Tertiary deposits are underlain by strata of Cretaceous age 

which at Little Rock have been recognized in well excavations and 

questionably recognized in a few poorly exposed outcrops. The 

materials immediately underlying the Arkansas River bottom to estimated depths of 100 to 200 feet consist of Quaternary alluvial loams, 

clays,. sands, and gravels which contain large quantities of water. 

These deposits rest on undifferentiated strata of Cretaceous and 

Eocene age which at undetermined depths rest on the southeastwardsloping Paleozoic basement rocks.

WATER RESOURCES. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

East of Arkansas River water for domestic and industrial uses is 

obtained chiefly from, wells 15 to 100 feet deep that tap the sands and 

gravels of the Quaternary alluvium the waters of which stand 8 to 

30 feet below the surface. According to well owners, many of the 

waters are hard, but some are soft and some are ferruginous. Detailed information concerning wells at Argenta and at Jacksonville 

is given in the table on page 260. A flowing, well 140 feet deep has 

been obtained at Sweet Home, a village west of Arkansas River on 

the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway, about 6£ miles 

southeast of Little Rock (No. 14, p. 260).

The undifferentiated Eocene and Cretaceous deposits intervening 

between the alluvial deposits and the buried Paleozoic basement 

rocks, except in close proximity to the margin of the Ozark province, 

doubtless contain water-bearing beds that are a probable source of 

artesian waters. These waters are under hydrostatic pressure probably sufficient to bring them within less than 50 feet of the surface, 

but it is doubtful if flowing wells can be obtained in the Advance 

lowland east of Arkansas River. The static head of the flowing well 

at Sweet Home is believed to be due to conditions that are only of 

local extent.

LOCAL SUPPLIES.

Little Rock. The municipal water supply of Little Rock (population 45,914, census of 1910) is obtained from Arkansas River. 

Information concerning the system has been furnished by Mr. G. M. 

Gadsby, superintendent of the waterworks, and by Mr. George P. 

Brown, secretary of the board of trade. The raw water is first 

11674° WSP 399 16 17
258 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

pumped into a preliminary sedimentation basin (holding 2,500,000 

gallons) where 20 to 60 per cent of the suspended matter is removed 

by subsidence. The water drawn from the top of this basin at one 

end is led into a coagulating basin having a capacity of 5,000,000 

gallons, arranged with baffles and weirs so as to allow the most 

efficient settling of the coagulated water. From this coagulating 

basin the water is drawn by floating outlets to the filters, the pressure filters being placed at a lower elevation so that the water flows 

through them into the clear-water basin by gravity. The clearwater basin has! a capacity of 5,300,000 gallons and is situated at 

such elevation that the city is supplied therefrom by gravity. 

Twenty-five closed pressure filters and four open gravity filters, all 

of the rapid-sand type, have been installed, the pressure filters having a total sand surface of 2,284 square feet and the gravity filters 

a total sand surface of 704 square feet. The sand is agitated during washing by the wash water, which is forced in from the bottom 

of the filter .at sufficient pressure to float the sand almost to the top of 

the outlet trough. The normal capacity of the plant is 8,504,000 

gallons and the daily consumption is about 4,000,000 gallons. Alum 

and iron and lime are used as coagulants, the kind and quantity 

of the coagulant varying with the quality of the raw water. The 

filtered water is also treated with calcium hypochlorite as it enters 

the clear-water basin. Though it is not intended to soften the water 

it is frequently necessary at low stages to use sufficient lime to have 

some softening effect. The water varies widely in its mineral content, but though enough chlorine has been present at times to be 

slightly noticeable the water has never been reported as brackish. 

It is generally used in boilers and is reported to be satisfactory with 

moderate use of boiler compound. There are 90 miles of mains, 

about 8,000 taps, and about 450 fire hydrants.

Argenta, The town of Argenta (population, 11,138, census of 

1910) is equipped with a water-supply system owned by the American 

Waterworks & Guaranty Co. Information concerning it has been 

obtained from F. G. Smith, acting superintendent. The supply is 

obtained from wells that tap the Quaternary alluvial deposits and 

are capable of yielding 2,000,000 gallons daily. There are 25 miles of 

mains. A pressure of 55 pounds per square inch is ordinarily maintained, but this can be raised for fire protection to 100 pounds per 

square inch. The daily consumption is 500,000 gallons.

The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Co. owns nine 

wells at Argenta, all of which are described in detail in the table 

on page 260 (Nos. 1-9). One well is at the site of the new shops and 

the other eight form a group used in furnishing the boiler supply of 

locomotives. The logs of three of these wells are as follows:
PULASKI COUNTY. 259

Logs of wells of St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway, Argenta.

At site of new shops.

[No. 1, p. 260.]

Quaternary alluvium:

Sandy clay ... ..................

Quicksand .....................

Gravel, water bearing .......... 

Coarse sand and bowlders,

Thickness.

Feet. 

4 

3 

10 

20 

13 

20 

4

6

Depth.

Feet. 

4 

7 

17 

37 

50 

70 

74

80

Well No. 1 in group.

[No. 2, p. 260.]

Artificial fill:

Quaternary alluvium:

Sand and gravel, water bearing..

Thickness.

Feet. 

10

30 

40

Depth.

Feet. 

10

40 

80

Well No. 4 in group.

[No. 5, p. 260.]

Artificial fill:

Quaternary alluvium:

10

25 

20 

25

10

35 

55 

80

The materials penetrated in wells Nos. 2, 3, 6, 7, and 8 of the group 

were of the same character as those encountered in well No. 1, 

and those in well No. 5 of the group were of the same character as 

those in well No. 4.

Jacksonville. The log of a well owned by S. Taylor, seven-eighths 

of a mile south of Jacksonville, is as follows:

Log of well of S. Taylor, seven-eighths of a mile south of Jacksonville (SE. i 

sec. 30, T. 3 N., R. 10 W.).

Quaternary alluvium:

White clay....... ...................................................................

Thick 

ness.

Feet.

7

4

13

Depth.

Feet. 

7

11

24

The log of an 82-foot well at Jacksonville, on the property of A. J. 

McBride, drilled in 1904, has been furnished by the owner as follows:

Log of well of A. J. McBride, Jacksonville.

[Quaternary alluvium]:

(Eocene (Midway formation ?)]:

Thickness.

Feet. 

10

20

40

12

Depth.

Feet. 

10

30

70

82
Wells in PulasJci County.

1

2 

3

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10

11 

12

13

14 

15

Location.

Argenta (at site of 

railroad shops).

Argenta (well No. 1) 

Argenta (well No. 2) 

Argenta (well No. 3) 

Argenta (well No. 4) 

Argenta (well No. 5) 

Argenta (well No. 6) 

Argenta (well No. 7) 

Argenta (well No. 8) 

East Little Rock....

.....do..............

Sweet Home (at mill) 

Wrightsville ........

Owner.

St. Louis, Iron 

Mountain & 

Southern Ry. 

Co. 

.....do........

.....do........ 

.....do........

.....do........

.....do........ 

.....do........

.....do........ 

.....do........

.....do........

Mrs.P.T.Murtishaw. 

Jacksonville 

Gin Co.

C. F.Chaer...

Mr. Bowman . 

Wm. Ferral...

Driller.

............

C.H. Winters. 

B. Wood..

H.L.Huff, 

Little 

Rock.

J. P. Clifford. 

...do......

Authority.

J.R.Stephens, chief 

engineer.

...do......

...do...... 

...do......

...do......

...do...... 

...do......

...do...... 

...do......

S.W. Murtishaw. 

J.H.Ramsey.

...do......

13 

o>

ID

I 

o 

o 

o> 

Is 

Q

1907 

1907 

1907 

1907 

1907 

1907 

1907 

1907

1881

Approximate ele- vation above 

sea level.

Feet.

255±

255± 

255± 

255 ± 

255 ± 

255± 

255± 

255 ± 

255± 

268

288± 

288±

250?

257

a

8- 

c

Ft. 

80

80 

79 

80 

80 

81 

82 

80 

78 

66

86 

150

4?,

140 

120

Diameter.

In.

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

8

4

8

Depth to princi- pal water-bearing bed.

Feet. 

50-80

40-80 

40-80 

40-80 

55-80 

55-80 

40-80 

40-80 

40-80

Geologic name 

of water-bearing formation.

Quaternary 

alluvium.

...do...... 

...do......

...do......

...do......

...do......

...do......

...do......

...do......

Quaternary

Quaternary 

alluvium. 

...do......

...do......

Eocene. 

...do......

Character of

prinwa

Sand 

grav

...do

...do

...do

...do

...do

...do

...do

...do

Sand

......

<j Veatch, A. C., Geology and underground water resources of northern Louisiana and southern Arkan
GEOL06Y ANI) GROtJNt) WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS. 261 

RANDOLPH COUNTY, 

PHYSIOGRAPHY,

Randolph County, which lies west of Clay and Green counties and 

north of Lawrence County, embraces an area of 674 square miles. Its 

population at the time of the census of 1910 was 18,987. Agriculture 

is the chief industry, the products including cotton, cereals, vegetables, and hay.

About three-quarters of the total area of the county is included in 

the Ozark province, a hilly upland lying 400 feet or more above sea 

level. A triangular area in the southeast, embracing about one-fourth 

of the county, is included in the Advance lowland, a topographic subdivision of the Mississippi embayment. Only that part of the county 

east of the Ozark province, including approximately one-third of the 

area, is treated in this report.

The surface of the Advance lowland is a nearly level or gently rolling plain, 270 to 280 feet above sea level, separated from the Ozark 

province on the west by a well-defined escarpment. Black River 

flows across the plain from the eastern border of the county westward 

to Pocahontas, and thence follows along the foot of the Ozark Hills 

to the southern boundary of the county. Near Pocahontas Black 

River is joined by Current River, which flows across the plain from 

northeast to southwest. The greater part of the Advance lowland is 

included in the broad timbered flood plains of these two streams, 

although in the extreme southeastern part of the county is a small 

area of gently rolling white clay land having the characteristics of the 

interstream areas.

GEOLOGY.

The Ozark province is underlain by Paleozoic rocks of Cambrian 

and Lower Ordovician age, which are separated from the deposits of 

the Coastal Plain on the east by a steep, southeastward-dipping, erosion escarpment, trending northeast-southwest. The older rocks pass 

under the deposits of the Coastal Plain and extend eastward beneath 

them, reaching greater depths in that direction.

The Advance lowland is underlain by an estimated thickness of 

150 to 180 feet of Quaternary alluvial deposits of Pleistocene and 

Recent age. The Pleistocene deposits rest on strata of Eocene or 

Cretaceous age and outcrop in the interstream areas. In general they 

grade downward from silty loams or clays at the surface through fine 

sands to coarse, water-bearing sands and gravels at the base. The 

Recent alluvium appears at the surface in the flood plains of Black 

and Current rivers.

The strata of Eocene or Cretaceous age do not outcrop in the 

county. They underlie the alluvium which is underlain in turn by
262 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

a basement of Paleozoic rocks the depth of which has not been determined by borings but probably nowhere exceeds 500 or 600 feet. 

The Eocene and Cretaceous deposits consist chiefly of unconsolidated 

sands and clays.

WATER RESOURCES.

In the Advance lowland water for domestic use is obtained chiefly 

from wells 15 to 100 feet deep, which tap the water-bearing sands and 

gravels of the Quaternary alluvium. The water stands in the wells 

10 to 30 feet below the surface. As reported by the owners the well 

waters are in general soft but locally they are ferruginous.

Two wells owned by the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Co. at O'Kean are, respectively, 50 and 97 feet deep, and 8 and 10 

inches in diameter; the water is used in the boilers of locomotives, 

the consumption being 1,200,000 gallons per month. An analysis of 

the mixed waters from the two wells is given in the table opposite 

page 302 (No. 57).

The Eocene and Cretaceous deposits which underlie the alluvium 

are believed to contain water-bearing beds which could be reached 

by wells ranging in depth from 180 to 500 or 600 feet as a probable 

maximum. The hydrostatic pressure would probably be sufficient in 

most places to bring the waters within less than 50 feet of the surface but not sufficient to cause flows.

ST. FBANCIS COUNTY.1 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

St. Francis County, in the eastern part of the State, comprises an 

area of 628 square miles and has a population, according to the census 

of 1910, of 22,548. Agriculture and lumbering are the principal industries. The agricultural products include cotton, cereals, and hay. 

Sawmills are numerous.

Three topographic subdivisions of the Gulf Coastal Plain are represented in the county Crowleys Ridge, the Advance lowland, and 

the Mississippi lowland.

Crowleys Ridge is a belt of hilly, partly wooded land, 1| to 6 miles 

wide, trending north and south a little west of the center of the 

county; the crest of the ridge is about 370 feet above sea level, or 140 

to 160 feet above the lowlands to the east and west. The drainage is 

effected chiefly by small streams that flow either eastward into St. 

Francis River or westward into L'Anguille River, but Big Crow 

Creek heads in the ridge near the northern boundary of the county, 

flows due south for about 9 miles, and leaves the ridge to join St.

1 A detailed account of the surface features and the geology of St. Francis County, accompanied by a topographic and a geologic map, is given by R. B. Call in Arkansas Geol. 

Survey Ann. Rept. for 1889, vol. 2, pp. 143-183.
ST. FRANCIS COUNTY. 263

Francis River near Madison. Both the eastern and western slopes 

of the ridge are sharply defined, but the eastern slope is the steeper.

The part of the county west of Crowleys Ridge is included in the 

Advance lowland, a gently undulating plain 230 to 260 feet above sea 

level. L'Anguille River traverses this plain from north to south at 

a distance of 3 to 6 miles west of Crowleys Ridge. From the foot of 

the ridge westward to L'Anguille River the plain is heavily timbered, 

except where cleared for cultivation, and slopes gradually from an 

elevation of about 260 feet to about 220 feet. West of the river the 

plain slopes from an elevation of about 250 feet in the north to about 

230 feet in the south. A small area in the southwestern part of the 

county is drained by Big Creek, a tributary of White River. The 

flood plains of the streams are heavily timbered and in part swampy. 

The interstream areas west of L'Anguille River present irregular 

patches of open, grass-covered prairie land, separated by slightly depressed patches and belts of timbered land.

The part of the county east of Crowleys Ridge is included in the 

Mississippi lowland, a heavity timbered, nearly level or gently undulating plain, 220 to 230 feet above sea level; swamps, lakes, bayous, 

and abandoned stream channels are numerous. The drainage is effected by St. Francis River, which flows from north to south in the 

western part of the lowland, following a course which in detail is very 

sinuous. Much of the area is subject to overflow from St. Francis and 

Mississippi rivers.

GEOLOGY.

Strata of Eocene age compose the core of Crowleys Ridge to a 

height of 20 to 70 feet above the level of the lowlands to the east and 

west. The deposits are irregularly bedded, dark to light clays, in 

part lignitic, and subordinate beds of dark to light-colored sands, in 

part glauconitic. Locally, the clays contain large numbers of invertebrate fossils, of which Ostrea alabainiensis Lea is the most abundant and most conspicuous species. The fossiliferous stratum has 

been determined by Vaughan to be of lower Jackson age. (See p. 

82.) Undifferentiated strata of Eocene age underlie Crowleys Ridge 

to an estimated depth of 800 or 1,000 feet, and beds of this age extend out under the lowlands both to the east and west of the ridge, 

where they are overlain by Quaternary alluvium, whose estimated 

thickness ranges from 125 to 225 feet. The Eocene deposits contain 

important water-bearing beds, that have been tapped by deep wells 

at Forrest City. The Eocene deposits are underlain by deposits of 

Cretaceous age, which are thought to contain water-bearing beds; at 

an undetermined depth, probably, however, not exceeding 3,000 feet, 

the Cretaceous strata rest upon a basement of rocks believed to be of 

Paleozoic age.
264 GEOLOGY AND GKOUND WATEKS, NOKTHEASTEBN ABKANSAS.

The Eocene strata of Crowleys Eidge are unconformably overlain 

by 10 to 40 feet of coarse sands and gravels, in part water-bearing, 

belonging to the Lafayette formation (Pliocene?) and this formation 

is in turn overlain by loess of Pleistocene age, ranging in thickness 

from a few feet to 80 feet or more. The loess is the capping material 

of the ridge. Both the Lafayette and the loess are found blanketing 

the slopes of the ridge; in places these materials have reached their 

present position either by redeposition, landslides, or creep, but at 

many places it is difficult to distinguish between the original and the 

disturbed deposits.

The Quaternary alluvium which immediately underlies the surface 

in the Advance lowland west of Crowleys Ridge to depths of 140 to 

200 feet is in part of Pleistocene and in part of Recent age. The 

Pleistocene deposits which outcrop in the interstream areas are irregularly bedded but in general grade downward from fine loams and 

silty clays through fine sands to coarse, abundantly water-bearing 

sands and gravels which rest unconformably on Eocene strata. The 

Recent deposits are loams, clays, sands, and gravels forming the 

flood-plain materials of the present streams.

The Quaternary alluvium, which underlies the Mississippi lowland 

to depths estimated at 125 to 225 feet, consists of loams, clays, and 

gravels, the coarser portions of which are abundantly water bearing. 

The materials immediately beneath the surface are probably entirely 

of Recent age, but Pleistocene beds probably intervene between the 

Recent and the underlying Eocene strata.

WATER RESOURCES. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

Ordinary supplies. Water for domestic and industrial use is obtained chiefly from wells 20 to 200 feet deep. Wells in Crowleys 

Ridge tap either the water-bearing sands and gravels of the Lafayette formation or the water-bearing sands of the underlying Eocene 

deposits, the waters of which rise within 20 to 125 feet of the surface. 

Wells in the lowlands tap the water-bearing sands and gravels of the 

Quaternary alluvium. According to the reports of the owners most 

of the well waters are hard and some are strongly ferruginous, but a 

few are soft.

The Eocene strata that underlie Crowleys Ridge to an estimated 

depth of 800 to l,00d feet and extend out to the east and west of the 

ridge beneath the Quaternary alluvium, contain water-bearing beds 

in which the waters are under hydrostatic pressure; in Crowleys 

Ridge they will rise within less than 150 feet of the surface, in the 

lowland east of the ridge within less than 20 feet of the surface, and 

in the lowland west of the ridge within 30 to 60 feet of the surface.
ST. FRANCIS COUNTY. 265

The deeply buried Cretaceous deposits are believed to contain 

water-bearing beds which would be reached by wells 1,000 feet or 

more in depth. In the Mississippi lowland waters from depths of 

1,200 feet or more would probably be under sufficient hydrostatic 

pressure to flow at the surface.

Small springs are numerous in Crowleys Ridge and are utilized to 

some extent for domestic and farm supplies.

Irrigation. Rice culture has become an important industry on the 

prairies in the western part of the county, and water for irrigating the 

rice lands is obtained from wells 125 to 190 feet deep. The cost of 

sinking the wells and installing pumping plants ranges from $1,000 

to $3,500 per well, and the yield ranges from 600 to 2,500 gallons a 

minute. The average cost based on nine wells is at the rate of 

$1,276 for each 1,000 gallons of yield a minute, or $1.28 for each 

gallon of yield a minute.

Detailed information concerning 14 irrigation wells is given in the 

table on page 268.

LOCAL SUPPLIES.

Forrest City. Forrest City (population, 2,484, census of 1910) is 

equipped with a water supply drawn from three wells, respectively, 

425, 425+, and 450 feet in depth (Nos. 3-5, p. 268). The principal 

water-bearing bed is in Eocene deposits at a depth of 400 feet, and 

the water rises within TO feet of the surface. The standpipe pressure 

is TO pounds per square inch. The wells yield an adequate supply of 

water of satisfactory quality.

A well at the Choctaw Brick Plant, three-quarters of a mile east 

of the town, is 600 feet deep and taps a water-bearing bed in the 

Eocene deposits (No. 6, p. 268).

Wells for irrigation. Wells for irrigating rice lands have been 

drilled in the western part of the county in the vicinity of Goodwin, 

Wheetley, and east and northeast of Zent (Monroe County). A. Boysen & Sons own nine wells near Wheetley, in Tps. 3 and 4 N., R. 1 W. 

(See No. 11, p. 268.) Mr. A. Boysen states that the wells pass through 

essentially the succession of strata given in the following log:

Average log of nine wells of A. Boysen & Sons near Wheetley.

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: 

Soil.................................................................................

Gravel, becoming coarser toward base, water bearing; drilling is discontinued when

Thickness.

Feet. 

3

12

15

10

30

75

Depth.

Feet. 

3

15

30

40

70

145
266 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

The following is the log of an irrigation well near Wheetley, owned 

by C. E. Patt:

Log of well of C. E. Patt near Wheetley.

[No. 13, p. 268.]

Thickness. Depth.

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium:

Soil......................................

Clay......................................

Fine sand................................

Clay......................................

Fine sand, water bearing in lower 20 feet.

Coarse sand, water bearing...............

Fine sand, water bearing.................

Gravel and bowlders, water bearing......

Gravel, water bearing....................

Eocene (?):

Blue clay.................................

Feet. 

2 

16 

7 

5

50 

20 

15 

35 

35

1

Feet.

2

18

25

30

80

100

115

150

185

186

Several irrigation wells are owned by the Luhallis Co. of Brinkley, 

detailed information concerning five of which is given on pages 

268-269 (Nos. 15-19), and the logs of four of them follow:

Log of well of the Luhallis Co., in tlie SW. £ sec. 5, T. 4 N., R. 1 W.

[No. 10, p. 268.]

Thickness. Depth.

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: Feet. Feet.

Soil................................................................................. 1.5 1.5

Clay................................................................................. 14.5 16

Sand, water bearing................................................................. 85 101

Sand and gravel, water bearing...................................................... 74 175

Log of well of the Luhallis Co., in the KW. i sec. 6, T. J, N., R. 1 W.

[No. 17, p. 268.]

Thick- -P. ., 

ness. DePthSoil and Pleistocene alluvium: Feet. Feet.

Soil................................................................................. 1.5 1.5

Clay................................................................................ 15.5 17

Quicksand.......................................................................... 43 60

Fine sand,water bearing............................................................ 20 80

Sand, water bearing................................................................. 73 153

Eocene (?):

Blue clay............................................................................ 2.6 155.6

Log of well of the Luhallis Co., in the 8E. I see. 6, T. 4 N., R. 1 W.

[No. 18, p. 2G8.]

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: ' Feet. Feet.

Soil................................................................................. 1 1

Clay................................................................................ 13 14

Sand, water bearing................................................................. 97 111

Sand, gravel, and bowlders, water bearing........................................... 35 146

Eocene:

Blue clay........................................................................... 1 147
ST. FBANCIS COUNTY. £67

Log of pell of the Luhallis Co., in. the SE. J sec. 6, T. 4 N., R. 1 W.

[No. 19, p. 268.]

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: 

Soil.................................................................................

Clay................................................................................

Eocene:

Thickness.

Feet. 

1.5

14.5

39

30

60

2

16

165

50

84

Depth.

Feet. 

1.5

16

55

85

145

147

163

328

378

462

The last well was drilled to the depth indicated (462 feet) to determine if larger quantities of water could be obtained from deeper 

water-bearing beds than, from the sands and gravels of the alluvial 

deposits, with negative results.

The logs of three other irrigation wells (Nos. 20-22, p. 268) in T. 3 

N., E. 1 W., are as follows:

Log of well of Norton Bros., of Brinkley, Ark., in the SW. i sec. 8, T. 4 JV-»

R. 1 W.

[No. 20, p. 268.]

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: 

Soil.................................................................................

Clay................................................................................

Eocene (?):

Thickness.

Feet. 

1.5

16.5

32

25

25

63

17

.8

Depth.

Feet. 

1.5

18

50

75

100

163

180

180.8

Log of well of C. E. Barber, in the 8. \ sec. 3, T. 4 N., R. 1 W.

[ No. 21, p. 268.]

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: 

Soil...................................... .....

Clay................................................................................

Eocene (?):

Thickness.

Feet. 

1

14

134

2

Depth.

Feet. 

1

15

149

151

Log of well of Mr. Oliphant, i miles northeast of Zent, in the W. | sec. 6, 

T. 4 N., R. 1 W.

[No. 22, p. 268.]

Pleistocene alluvium: 

Clay................................... ,

Thickness.

Feet.

52

45

16

Depth.

Feet. 

12

64

109

125
Wells in St. Francis County.

1

2 

3 

4 

5

6

7 

8

9 

10

11 

12

13

14 

15

16

17 

18 

19 

20

21

22

Location.

Place.

.....do.................

.....do.................

.....do.................

.....do.................

Forrest City,! mile 

east of. 

Goodwin, 1J miles 

west of. 

Hunter (Woodruff 

County), 3J miles 

south of. 

McDaniel, 1 mile east of.

.....do.................

.....do.................

Zent (Monroe County), 

li miles east of.

.....do.................

.....do.................

.....do.................

.....do.................

Zent, li miles northeast 

of.

T.

4N. 

4N.

4N. 

4N.

4N. 

4N.

4N. 

4N.

4N. 

4N. 

4N. 

4N.

4N. 

4N.

R.

f

IE. 

1 W.

3E. 

2E.

1 W.

1 W.

1 W.

1 W.

1 W.

1 W. 

1 W. 

1 W.

1 W. 

1 W.

Sec.

5,N. J....

22,NE.J.. 

9, SW. i..

33,NE.J.. 

26.........

6..........

6,SW.J... 

6,SE.J....

3,S.|.... 

6.W.J....

Owner.

St. Louis, Iron 

Mountain & 

Southern Ry. Co.

.....do............

.....do............

Choctaw Brick 

Plant. 

Riley-Harrison Co .

J. M. Brichler, 

Belleville, 111.

A. D. McDaniel... 

J. A. Sulcer.......

A. Boysen & Sons. 

Alex. OehlschlaC.E.Patt, Kansas 

City, Mo.

The Luhallis Co., 

Brinkley.

.....do............ 

.....do............

.....do............

Norton Bros.., 

Brinkley. 

C. E. Barber, 

Wheetley.

Driller.

Layne & Bowler, 

Stuttgart.

Gus Carpenter, 

Forrest City. 

O.S.Abels.......

Layne & Bowler, 

Stuttgart. 

C. Golieke, Garden 

City, Kans.

Arkansas Well Co., 

Brinkley. 

C. Golieke, Garden 

City, Kans. 

.....do... ......... 

.....do............

.....do............

.....do............

Layne & Bowler, 

Stuttgart. 

Jerome Fesperman

Authorit

J.R. Steph

chief e

neer. 

.....do...

George Ri

.....do..

.....do..

E. G. Nor

Brinkle

J. L. Nor

Brinkle

E. G. Nor

Brinkle

.....do..

.....do..

.....do..

.....do..

.....do..

.....do..
1 

2

3

4 

5 

6

7 

8

9

10 

11

12

13 

14 

15

16 

17 

18

19 

20

21 

22

Location.

Place.

Forrest City.........

.....do...............

.....do...............

.....do...............

.....do...............

Forrest City, \ mile 

east of. 

Goodwin, 1% miles 

west of. 

Hunter (Woodruff 

County), 3J miles 

south of. 

McDaniel, 1 mile east 

of.

Wheetley.. ..........

.....do...............

.....do...............

.....do...............

Zent (Monroe County ) , 1 i miles east of .

Zent, northeast of.. . . 

.....do...............

.....do...............

.....do...............

.....do...............

Zent, 1J miles northeast of.

T.

4N.

4N.

4N. 

4N.

4N. 

4N.

4N. 

4N. 

4N. 

4N.

4N. 

4N.

4N. 

4N.

R.

IE. 

1 W.

3E.

2E.

1 W. 

1 W.

1 W. 

1 W. 

1 W. 

1 W.

1 W. 

1 W.

1 W. 

1 W.

Sec.

5,N.J...'..

22,NE.i..

9,SW.i...

OQ "M"T? 1

26.........

6..........

5,SW.J...

e,sw.i...

6,SE.i.... 

6,SE.J....

8,SW.i... 

3,S.i......

6,W4....

Character of principal v/ater-bearing bed.

.....do............

.....do............

.....do............

.....do............

.....do............

Sand and gravel. . 

.....do............

Sand.............. 

Sand and gravel..

Sand and gravel. . 

.....do............

.....do............

Level ofwater below 

surlace.

Feet.

70

70 

70

4 

27

Ofi

20

30 

32

30 

30

33 

33 

33

QQ

33

36

CD 

ft»

 a 3

21

!»

Galls.

100+

100+ 

100+

2,500 

2,500

1,500 

1,200

1,500 

2,000

1,100 

600 

2,500

1,100 

2,000

Method ol

lift.

Steam

Wind.

Hand. 

Steam

...do.. 

. . .do. .

...do..

...do.. 

...do.. 

...do.. 

...do..

Steam. 

...do..

...do..

^3 

f£

«4-M

1 

U

$3,

75

50 

1,500

2,000

I/ 

2,«

1,800 

1,800 

1,800

1,800

ho 

+

0

500

150 

)00
270 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

WHITE COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

White County, in the northeast-central part of the State, comprises 

an area of 1,037 square miles. Its population at the time of the 

census of 1910 was 28,574. The principal industry is agriculture, the 

products including cotton, cereals, vegetables, and hay.

The county is topographically divisible into two parts. The part 

west of a line running northeast-southwest a few miles west of the 

St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway is the Ozark province, 

a strongly dissected upland lying 400 to 1,000 feet or more above 

sea level and containing about three-fifths of the total area of the 

county. The remainder of the county is included in the Gulf Coastal 

Plain, the greater part of which is a nearly level or gently rolling 

plain known as the Advance lowland, lying 215 to 230 feet above sea 

level. Only that part of the county lying east of the Ozark province 

is treated in this report.

Along the western margin of the Coastal Plain in the northern 

part of the county bordering the Ozark province is a narrow terrace 

or ridge more or less clearly defined, forming the southern extremity 

of the Grandglaise terrace, the crest of which is 250 to 300 feet above 

sea level, or 40 to 50 feet above the lowland to the east. Bordering 

the Ozark province, southwest of Beebe in the southern part of the 

county, there is also a small hilly tract, which rises somewhat above 

the level of the Advance lowland.

White River forms the eastern boundary of the county. Little Bed 

River leaves the Ozark province near Searcy, flows a little south of 

east, and joins White River about 6 miles north of the southeastern 

corner of the county. Bayou des Arc, a tributary of White River, 

forms the greater part of the southern boundary. The broad flood 

plains of these streams are heavily timbered, and swamps, bayous, 

and abandoned stream channels are numerous. The interstream areas 

are gently rolling and are for the most part timbered except where 

cleared for cultivation. There are a few patches of prairie land in 

the southern part of the county.

GEOLOGY.

The Ozark province is underlain by undifferentiated Paleozoic 

sandstones and shales of Pennsylvanian age. They are separated from 

the deposits of the Coastal Plain on the east by a relatively steep, 

eastward-facing erosion escarpment along the line of which the older 

rocks pass under the deposits of the Coastal Plain and extend eastward beneath them, lying deeper in that direction. The Paleozoic 

rocks have been reached in wells east of the escarpment at a few 

places along the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway. (See 

logs of wells, p. 272.)
WHITE COUNTY. 271

The deposits of the Coastal Plain are of Cretaceous, Tertiary, and 

Quaternary age. So far as known Cretaceous strata do not outcrop 

within the county, but marl containing characteristic Cretaceous fossils has been taken from a well at Beebe between the depths 29 and 64 

feet.1 Strata of this age are believed to underlie all the Coastal Plain 

portion of the county. They rest upon the rocks of the Paleozoic 

basement and are overlain by Eocene and younger deposits.

Marls and limestone belonging to the Midway formation of the 

Eocene outcrop at a few places in the Grandglaise terrace and marls, 

probably of Midway age, have been recognized in well borings near 

Beebe. Undifferentiated strata of Eocene age are believed to make 

up the body of some low hills southwest of Beebe. East of the 

Grandglaise terrace in the Advance lowland Undifferentiated strata 

of Eocene age are believed to be present, resting upon the deeply 

buried Cretaceous strata and overlain by 100 to 150 feet of Quaternary alluvial deposits. Both the Eocene and underlying Cretaceous 

deposits probably contain important water-bearing beds.

The Quaternary alluvium, which immediately underlies the Advance lowland to estimated depths of 100 to 150 feet, is of Pleistocene and Recent age. The Pleistocene deposits, though irregularly 

bedded, in general grade downward from fine silty clays or sands at 

the surface through fine sands to coarse abundantly water-bearing 

sands and gravels at the base. They rest unconformably upon Paleozoic, Cretaceous, and Eocene strata and outcrop in the interstream 

areas. Recent loams, clays, sands, and gravels compose the floodplain deposits of the present streams.

WATER RESOURCES. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

In the Coastal Plain area water for domestic and industrial uses 

is obtained chiefly from wells 15 to 80 feet deep. In the Advance 

lowland wells that yield sufficient water for ordinary domestic 

supplies tap the water-bearing sands and gravels of the Quaternary 

alluvial deposits, and in the Grandglaise terrace beds belonging to 

the Midway formation are the source of supply. The waters stand 

in the wells 10 to 50 feet below the surface and, according to the 

reports of well owners, many are hard, some are soft, and some are 

ferruginous. In a considerable area in the eastern part of the county, 

particularly in the vicinity of West Point, Worden, and east of 

Russell, waters having a distinct brackish taste, probably due to common salt, are obtained.

Small springs which emerge from strata of the Midway formation are numerous along the narrow ridge or terrace known as the

1 Harris, G. D., The Tertiary geology of southern Arkansas: Arkansas Geol. Survey 

Ann. Kept, vol, 2, pp, 10, 11, 1892.
272 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Grandglaise terrace, and are utilized to some extent for domestic 

supplies.

The undifferentiated Cretaceous and Eocene deposits which intervene between the Quaternary alluvium and the Paleozoic basement 

rocks are believed to contain important water-bearing beds that 

would be reached by wells ranging in depth from 150 to 200 feet 

near the western part of the area to a maximum of 800 or 1,000 

feet in the extreme southeastern part. These waters are under hydrostatic pressure probably sufficient to bring them within 50 feet or 

less of the surface.

LOCAL SUPPLIES.

Bald Knob. At Bald Knob (population 617, census of 1910) the 

St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Co. obtains water for 

locomotives from a well 225 feet deep (No. 1, p. 273), which enters 

Paleozoic rocks at a depth of 31 feet; the water, which rises within 

38 feet of the surface, comes from a crevice in these rocks at a depth 

of 193 feet. The well yields 4,000,000 gallons a month. When 

pumped at the rate of 5,000 gallons an hour the static head is reduced 

4 feet and 5 inches. (See analysis 64, p. 302.)

The following is a log of the well:

Log of well of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Raihoay, Bald Knob.

Quaternary alluvium:

Paleozoic:

Hard rock; at a depth of 193 feet a crevice was struck, which is believed to furnish

Thickness.

Feet. 

30

1

on

9

70

12

73

Depth.

Feet.

on

31

61

70

140

1 W

ooc

fligginsdn. The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway 

Co. owns two wells at Higginson (population 192, census of 1910), 

each 62.5 feet deep (Nos. 2 and 3, p. 273). They tap the coarse sands 

and gravels at the base of the Quaternary alluvium and yield at the 

rate of 3,500,000 gallons a month. An analysis of the mixed water 

from the two wells is given in the table opposite page 302 (No. 65). 

The following is a log of one of the wells:

Log of ^vell of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway, Higginson.

Quaternary alluvium: 

day.. ..............................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

30

20

12.5

Depth.

Feet. 

30

50

62.5
aSAV 8T 91 668 

1 I- N» *.CO O< 05 -J OSDOO 

mile west of.. \ Worden, 

00

lz!

Cn 

^

8

O

» 

»§

3"

West Point.

.....do......

Worden.....

* %v 

O) os en 

bo to to 

O> »Oi 

V 3* 

^ HU 

| e| 

t- IP 

;

0 0 

1 w " ^ 

1

f\

v

5

3

~*

Lumb Doniphar Co. 

Geo. F.Mflvflr_.

*

V

8

^

W 

1-

 + 

w

3 

yi

9

rs

W W 0 

M l_i S 

Ps P & a& 

' ti >5 > 33 

1 1 

j 1 1 1 Ill 

. Higginson. 

.....do......

2. 

3

2, 

>

Bald Knob.... .........

St. IronLouis, 

& Mountain Co. Southern Ry.

----.do............

^SE 

i

2. C

ti

0 

D 

g- 

|

»j § if i § m 

c? .cn to to Co Cn O Oi O O <y> 

"-i i i i i-. 

oip o o j -a 1 i- to nil to 

er^c? Cft O5 O5 Cn <! Cn CO Cn 

re_ g JC JC O O ta Obcncn 

en en 

S. to to 

*> en 

| PPp3g3|pgi|p3| 

| g | | | | 

»

"

»

OQ

if

O

1

|

P

completed. Date 

eleva- Approximate 

level. sea above tion 

Depth.

Diameter.

principal to Depth 

bed. water-bearing 

other to Depth 

beds. water-bearing 

O 

0*^0

oT^. § 

2.i
Wells in White County Continued

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8 

9

10

Location.

Place.

.....do..............

Kensett, 1J miles 

norfti of.

.....do..............

Word en, J mile west 

of.

T.

7N.

7N.

7N. 

8N.

8N.

R.

6W.

6W.

6W. 

5W.

5W.

Sec.

8,NW. ! 

26, NE.J.. 

25, SW. 1. .

25, NW. i. 

25.........

Character of principal water-bearing bed.

Crevice in hard 

rock.

Coarse sand with 

pebbles and cobbles. 

.....do............

Coarse sand and 

gravel.

Gravel............ 

Sand..............

Sand..............

Level ofwater below surface.

Feet. 

38

10

10 

23

50

(tft

20

20

Yield per minute.

Galls. 

90+

I 80 

35+

Method oflift.

I:::

Steam 

Hand.

...do...

Hand. 

...do...

...do...

Cost ofwell.

$80

9 

25

10 

9
GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NOKTHEASTERN ARKANSAS. 275 

WOODRUFF COUNTY. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Woodruff County, in the northeast-central part of the State, embraces an area of 577 square miles. The census of 1910 reported its 

population to be 20,049. Agriculture is the chief industry, the principal crops being cotton, corn, rice, and hay.

The county is included in the topographic subdivision of the Gulf 

Coastal Plain known as the Advance lowland, the surface of which is 

in general a gently undulating plain 190 to 235 feet above sea level 

and sloping slightly to the south. White River forms the western 

boundary; Cache River enters the county in the north and flows a 

little west of south entirely across the county. The area between 

White and Cache rivers is heavily timbered and is nearly all included in the flood plain of the two streams; it is characterized by 

swamps, bayous, and lakes, separated by low ridges of sand or sandy 

loam. Bayou De Vue enters the county in the northeastern corner 

and flows a little west of south to the southern boundary. Between 

Cache River and Bayou De Vue and 15 or 20 feet higher than the 

flood plain to the west is a belt of land locally known as Nubbin 

Ridge, which has been largely cleared for cultivation. East of 

Bayou De Vue the surface presents irregular patches of grass-covered 

prairie separated by tracts of slightly depressed timbered lands.

GEOLOGY.

Quaternary alluvium of Pleistocene and Recent age underlies the 

surface to depths estimated at 125 to 165 feet. The Pleistocene deposits rest unconformably upon Eocene strata and outcrop in the 

higher interstream areas in the eastern half of the county and to a 

small extent in the northern part of the county. Although irregularly 

bedded they grade downward in general from fine silty loams or 

clays at the surface, through fine sands to coarse water-bearing sands 

and gravels at the base. Recent alluvial loams, clays, sands, and 

gravels underlie the flood plains of the present streams to an undetermined depth.

The Eocene strata which underlie the Quaternary alluvium are 

probably several hundred feet thick and are in turn underlain by 

Cretaceous deposits which, at a depth of 900 to 1,200 feet or more, 

rest upon Paleozoic basement rocks. The only definite information 

available concerning the character of the undifferentiated Eocene 

and Cretaceous strata is furnished by a 900-foot well at Augusta, 

which is reported to have penetrated " dry " blue clay from a depth 

of 145 feet to a depth of 900 feet, where hard rock, probably Paleozoic 

basement rock, was struck.
276 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN" ARKANSAS.

WATER RESOURCES. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

Water for domestic, industrial, and irrigation supplies is obtained 

chiefly from wells 10 to 165 feet deep which tap the abundantly waterbearing sands and gravels of the Quaternary alluvium. The water 

stands in the wells a few feet to 40 feet below the surface, and, according to the reports of the well owners, most of the waters are soft but a 

few are hard.

Although the 900-foot well at Augusta is reported to have encountered only non water-bearing clays from a depth of 145 to 900 feet, 

it is believed that this condition, if accurately reported, is of local extent and that elsewhere the prospects are good for obtaining water 

from interbedded sandy layers in these undifferentiated Eocene and 

Cretaceous deposits. Such waters would be under hydrostatic pressure which would probably bring them within less than 50 feet of the 

surface.

LOCAL SUPPLIES.

Augusta. The municipal water supply of Augusta (population 

1,520, census of 1910), the county seat, is owned by Campbell & 

Vinson. The water is obtained from two wells, 100 feet deep (Nos. 

1 and 2, p. 278), whose combined daily yield is 200,000 gallons. A 

Cook strainer is inserted in the lower 20 feet of each well. The water 

is distributed at a pressure of 40 pounds per square inch from a 

standpipe holding 50,000 gallons. The level of the water in the wells 

is said to fluctuate with the level of White River, the maximum range 

being from 20 to 40 feet below the surface. The water is strongly 

ferruginous.

The following log of a 900-foot well drilled at Augusta some time 

ago is based on the oral statements of citizens, and the character and 

thickness of the strata are therefore given only approximately.

Log of 900-foot well at Augusta.

[No. 3, p. 278.]

Quaternary alluvium:

Undifferentiated Eocene and Cretaceous:

Thickness.

Feet. 

30

70

45

755

Depth.

Feet. 

30

100 14<;

900

Cotton Plcwit. The municipal water supply of Cotton Plant 

(population 1,081, census of 1910), information concerning which 

has been furnished by F. H. Kennedy, postmaster, is obtained from
WOODRUFF COUNTY. 277

a shallow well 36 (?) feet deep and is distributed from a 50,000- 

gallon tank. The water is soft and the daily consumption is 15,000 

gallons.

Wells for irrigation. Rice is grown on the prairies in the eastern 

part of the county and water for irrigation is obtained from wells 

100 to 160 feet deep, yielding 1,500 to 2,500 gallons a minute. Detailed information concerning five irrigation wells is given in the 

table on page 278 (Nos. 7-11). The logs of three of these wells 

follow:

Log of well of the Hunter Land & Rice Co., near Hunter.

[No. 8, p. 278.]

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: 

Soil.................................

Clay................................

Quicksand ............ . .........

Gravel and bowlders, water bearing; stopped on blue clay, probably of Eocene age. .

Thickness.

'Feet. 

1.25

.75

16

22

30

20

37

Depth.

Feet. 

1.25

2

18

40

70

90

127

The driller states that gas was encountered in this well with pressure sufficient to lift the tools 4 inches.

Log of well No. 2 of the Hunter Land & Rice Co., near Hunter.

[No. 7, p. 278.]

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: 

SoU.................................................................................

Clay................................................................................

Eocene (?):

Thickness.

Feet. 

1.5

1

14.5

33

30

20

55

1

Depth.

Feet. 

1.5

2.5

17

50

80

100

155

156

Log of well of H. L. Baker, If miles southwest of Hunter.

[No. 9, p. 278.]

Soil and Pleistocene alluvium: 

Soil.................................................................................

Thickness.

Feet. 

3

12

8

42

9

16

18

Depth.

Feet. 

3

15

23

65

74

90

108
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Location.

0

fi

O 

5*

&

1 

^

completed. Date 

eleva- Approximate 

level. sea above tion 

Depth.

Diameter.

principal to Depth 

bed. water-bearing 

other to Depth 

beds. water-bearing 

Oo> A 

£. H.S 

rt-o^ 2 

gi?^. 

10 i p 

B sr® 

P'|i 

a w
1

2 

3

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9

10 

11

Location.

Place.

.....do...............

.....do...............

Howell. .............

.....do...............

Hunter, southeast of. 

.....do...............

Hunter, If miles 

southeast of.

Hunter, 3 miles

south of.

T.

6N. 

6N. 

6N.

5N. 

5N. 

5N.

5N. 

7N.

R.

1 W. 

2W. 

2W. 

1W. 

1W. 

1W.

1W.

1W.

Sec.

22, SE.I..

30, NW. i. 

30,NE.i..

OA

<3A

21.........

30,SW.J..

25, SE.I..

Character of principal water-bearing bed.

Sand. ............. 

.....do............

Gravel ............

Level ofwater below surface.

Feet. 

20-40 

20-40

20 

28

40

23

30 

19

Yield per minute.

Galls. 

70 

70

........

2

1,600

2,500 

2,000

Method oflift.

Steam. 

Hand. 

...do..

Steam. 

...do..

Cost ofwell.

Coomac

$45 

80

1,100

1,000 

1,<

100

CHEMICAL CHARACTER OF THE WATERS OF NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

By R. B. DOLE.

STANDARDS OF CLASSIFICATION.

MINERAL CONSTITUENTS OF WATER.

The substances that may be present in natural waters are classified 

for analysis as suspended matter, suqh as particles of clay or leaves; 

dissolved matter, either of mineral or organic origin; microscopic 

animals or plants; and bacteria. The presence of very small animals and plants likely to affect the quality of waters is determined 

by microscopic examination, and the chance of contracting disease 

by drinking the water is studied by bacteriologic processes. The 

amount and nature of the mineral ingredients are most commonly 

determined by estimating the total suspended matter, total dissolved 

matter, total hardness, total alkalinity, silica, iron, aluminum, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, carbonate, bicarbonate," sulphate, nitrate, chloride, free carbon dioxide, and free hydrogen 

sulphide. These estimates are a measure of the materials most commonly present and most likely to affect the value of the waters.

WATER FOR BOILER USE.

4*

FORMATION OF SCALE.

The most common trouble in boilers is formation of scale, for 

when the water is heated under pressure and concentrated certain 

substances are thrown out of solution and form an incrustation on 

the flues or crown sheets or within the tubes. This scale or incrustation includes practically all the suspended matter or mud; the silica, 

probably precipitated as the oxide (SiO2 ); the iron and aluminum, 

appearing in the scale as oxides or hydrated oxides; the calcium, 

precipitated principally in the form of carbonate and sulphate; and 

the magnesium, found in the deposits principally as the oxide but 

partly as the carbonate. The scale is therefore a mixture, which

281
282 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

varies in amount, density, hardness, and composition with different 

conditions of water supply, steam pressure, type of boiler, and other 

circumstances. Calcium and magnesium are the principal basic substances in the scale, over 90 per cent of which usually is calcium, 

magnesium, carbonate, and sulphate. If much organic matter is 

present, part of it is precipitated with the mineral scale, as the 

organic matter is decomposed by heat or by reaction with other substances. If magnesium and sulphate are comparatively low, or if 

suspended matter is comparatively high, the scale is soft and bulky 

and may be in the form of sludge that can be blown or washed from 

the boiler. On the other hand, a clear water relatively high in 

magnesium and sulphate may produce a hard, compact scale that is 

nearly as dense as porcelain, clings to the tubes, and offers great 

resistance to the transmission of heat.

COKKOSION.

Corrosion or " pitting " is caused chiefly by the solvent action of 

acids on the iron of the boiler. Organic matter, is probably a source 

of acids, for it is well known that waters high in organic matter and 

low in calcium and magnesium are corrosive, though the exact nature 

and the action of the organic bodies are not well understood. Acids 

freed in the boiler by the deposition of iron, aluminum, and magnesium as hydrates are the chief cause of corrosion, and magnesium 

deserves particular attention, as it is the most abundant of the three. 

The acid radicles that were in equilibrium with these bases may do 

one or all of three things, according to the chemical composition of 

the water: They may pass into equilibrium with other bases, displacing equivalent quantities of carbonate and bicarbonate; they 

may decompose carbonate that has been precipitated as scale; or 

they may combine with the iron of the boiler, thus causing corrosion. 

Which of these reactions will occur can be expressed even with the 

most complete analyses only as a probability. If the acid thus freed 

exceeds the amount required to decompose the carbonate and bicarbonate, the iron of the boiler is attacked and pits or tuberculations 

of the interior surface, leaks, particularly around rivets, and consequent deterioration of the boiler result.

FOAMING.

Foaming is the formation of masses of bubbles on the surface of 

the water in the boiler and in the steam space above the water, and 

it is intimately connected with priming, which is the passage from 

the boiler of water mixed with steam. The principal cause of foaming is usually believed to be an excess of dissolved matter; conse-
CHEMICAL CHARACTER OF THE WATERS. 283

quently, as sodium and potassium remain dissolved in the boiler 

water while the greater portion of the other bases is precipitated, 

the foaming tendency is commonly measured by the degree of concentration of the alkaline salts in solution, because this figure, in 

connection with the type of boiler, determines to great extent the 

length of time that a boiler may run without danger of foaming. It 

is a fact that the worst foaming waters in railroad practice are 

encountered in the arid and semiarid regions of the Southwest, where 

the quantity of dissolved alkali is greatest. However, it is well 

known that suspended matter can cause foaming, for certain surface 

waters that when clear do not foam, but deposit a moderate amount 

of scale, foam badly whenever they carry a great quantity of mud. 

The design of the boiler, irregular blowing off, neglect to change 

water periodically, introduction of oil into the feed water from the 

exhaust steam, and improper firing and feeding are doubtless factors in foaming.

REMEDIES FOR BOILER TROUBLES.

It is best to treat feed waters before they enter boilers, but when 

such treatment can not be given there are various ways of obviating 

trouble. Low-pressure, large-flue boilers are frequently used in 

many stationary plants with hard waters, and it is said that the scale 

formed in them is softer and more flocculent and can therefore be 

more readily removed than that in high-pressure boilers. Blowing 

off is about the only practical means of preventing foaming, because 

this trouble is due principally to concentration of substances in the 

residual water of the boilers. Accumulated sludge, or soft scale, is 

removed by blowing, particularly in locomotive practice.

BOILER COMPOUNDS.

Boiler compounds are widely used in regions where hard waters 

abound, but treatment within the boiler should be given only when 

it is impossible to purify the supply before it enters the boiler or 

when the -relatively pure condition of the supply requires only minor 

correction. If previous purification is not practicable, some feed 

waters can be improved by judicious addition of chemicals. Though 

many substances have been recommended for such use, only a few 

have proved to be really efficient. Soda ash, the commercial form 

of sodium carbonate, containing about 95 per cent Na2CO3 , is most 

valuable for attacking chemically the scaling and corroding constituents, precipitating the incrusting matter, and neutralizing acids 

because it is cheap and its use is attended with the least objectionable results. The proper amount of it to be used depends on the
284 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATEES, NOBTHEASTEKN AEKANSAS.

chemical composition of the water and the type of boiler. Tannin 

and tannin compounds are also used for the same purpose. The 

addition of limewater to some feed waters high in organic matter 

and free carbon dioxide and very low in incrtistants effectively prevents corrosion and foaming. Certain other boiler compounds act 

mechanically on the precipitated crystals of scale-making matter 

soon after they are formed, surrounding them and robbing them of 

their cement-like action. Glutinous, starchy, and oily substances 

belong to this class, but they are not now used to any considerable 

extent because they thicken and foul the water more than they 

prevent the formation of hard scale. Kerosene is effective in partly 

dissolving deposited scale, thus loosening it and permitting its ready 

removal, and graphite is extensively used to prevent formation of 

hard scale and sticking of particles to the boiler tubes or shell.

Many boiler compounds possessing or supposed to possess one or 

more of the functions just described are on the market and are widely 

sold. Some are effective and some are positively injurious. Most of 

them depend for their chief action on soda ash, petroleum, or a vegetable extract, but all are costly compared with lime and soda ash. 

Boiler compounds can not reduce the amount of scale, but may increase it. Their only legitimate functions are to prevent corrosion 

and deposition of hard scale and to remove accumulations of scale 

that have become attached to the boiler. Every engineer should bear 

in mind that a steam boiler is an expensive piece of apparatus and that 

fuel and boiler repairs also are expensive. Therefore lie should hesitate to add substances to his feed water without competent advice 

regarding their effect. It is far more economical to have -the water 

supply analyzed and to treat it effectively by well-known chemicals 

in proper proportion, either within or without the boiler, than to 

experiment with compounds of unknown composition.

NUMERICAL STANDARDS.

The probable quantities of scale-forming and foaming ingredients 

and the probability of corrosion when the waters are used in boilers 

have been computed for the analyses published in this report by 

means of modifications of certain formulas published in Stabler's 

excellent discussion 1 of the quality of mineral waters. His terms 

involving iron, aluminum, and free acids have been omitted because 

the amount of these substances in the waters of Arkansas is usually 

too small to necessitate consideration in such approximate rating; 

the terms involving sodium and potassium have been united for sim1 Stabler, Herman, The mineral analysis of water for industrial purposes and its interpretation by the engineer: Eng. News, vol. 60, p. 355, 1908; also U. 8. Geol. Survey 

Water-Supply Paper 274, p. 165, 1911.
CHEMICAL CHARACTER OP THE WATERS. 285

plicity. The coefficients have been recomputed to give the estimates 

in parts per million.

(1) *=Sm+Cm+2.95 Ca+1.66 Mg.

(2) A=SiO,+1.66 Mg+1.92 Cl+1.42 SO* 2.95 Na.

(3) /=2.7 Na.

(4) c=0.0821 Mg 0.333 CO3 0.0164 HCO3 .

These equations express numerically some of the relations that have 

been discussed in the preceding sections on scale, corrosion, and 

priming. Sm, Cm, SiO2 , Ca, Mg, Na, Cl, SO4, CO3 , and HCO3 represent the amounts in parts per million, respectively, of suspended 

matter, colloidal matter (oxides of silicon, iron, and aluminum), 

silica, calcium, magnesium, alkalies, chlorine, sulphate, carbonate, 

and bicarbonate. The first formula gives the amount of scaleforming ingredients (s) under ordinary conditions of boiler operation. As values for silica (SiO2 ) are given in only a few of the 

analyses in this report, 35 has been taken as a fair average value for 

that substance in computing the value of s. Fortunately, silica is a 

relatively constant ingredient, its values ranging within comparatively narrow limits irrespective of the abundance of other ingredients. As most of the ground waters of Arkansas carry practically 

no suspended matter, Sm generally has the value of zero, but the 

term can not be disregarded in estimating the value of raw surface 

waters, which frequently contain more suspended than dissolved 

matter.

The hard-scale-forming ingredients (h) may be estimated by

formula 3; therefore the ratio, -, expresses the relative hardness

S

of the scale. If is greater than 0.5 the scale may properly be

S

called hard; if it is less than 0.25 the scale may be called soft. The 

third formula gives an estimate of the foaming ingredients (/) based 

on the probable amount of alkali salts dissolved in the water.

Formula 4 has been used to calculate the corrosive tendency of 

the water (c), and it can be readily seen from the coefficients that 

it expresses the relation between the reacting values of magnesium 

and the radicles involving carbonic acid outlined in the discussion 

of corrosion. If c is positive the water is corrosive. If c-)-0.0499 Ca,

the reacting value of calcium, is negative, corrosion 

eral constituents will not take place; whether organic 

trolysis can then cause corrosion is uncertain. If

lue to the ininmatter or elec- 

;+0.0499 Ca is

positive the probability of corrosion is uncertain.

After these three attributes of boiler feed have been computed it 

is largely a matter of judgment based on experience to rate the water. 

The value of natural waters for use in boilers depends primarily 

on their corroding and foaming tendencies and on the amount and
286 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

character of scale likely to be deposited by them, but this value 

should always be considered in connection with local standards, for 

no matter how low a water may be in undesirable constituents it 

can not be classed as good if it is poorer in quality than the averagewater of the region in which it occurs, and, 011 the other hand, if 

the best available supply is poor the economy of purifying it, even 

at large expense, is obvious.

Waters of poor quality can be improved by treatment in softening 

plants. The question how bad a water may be used without treatment can be answered by comparing the cost of artificially softening 

the water with the saving effected by the use of softened water. The 

benefits of softening include saving in boiler cleaning, in repairs, 

and in fuel, increased number of boilers in service, decreased depreciation of boilers, and the value of the materials removed by 

softening. The cost of softening includes labor and power for the 

softening apparatus, value of softening chemicals, interest on cost 

of installation, depreciation in value of softening plant, and waste 

in changing boiler feed due to increased foaming tendency. In general, it is economical in locomotive service to treat waters containing 250 to 850 parts per million of incrustants and those containing 

less than the lower amount if the scale formed contains much sulphate.1

The amount of mineral matter that makes a water absolutely unfit 

for boiler use depends on the combined effect in boilers of the softening reagents used with such waters and of the constituents not removed by softening. Sodium salts added to remove incrustants or 

to prevent corrosion increase the foaming tendency and this increase 

may be great enough to render a water useless for steaming. It is 

not of much benefit to soften a water containing more than 850 parts 

per million of nonincrusting material and much incrusting sulphate.1 

Though waters containing as high as 1,700 parts per million of 

foaming constituents have been used in locomotives, it is usually 

more economical to incur considerable expense in replacing such 

supplies by better ones. A concentration of about 7,000 parts is 

considered the limit of safety for stationary boilers.

The ratings of the committee on water service of the American 

Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association given 

in the following table have been used for classifying the Arkansas 

waters in respect to boiler use. These limits are obviously only 

approximate and the classifications must therefore not be taken too 

literally. They are given rather to indicate the limits of usefulness 

than to define rigidly the value of the waters.

1 Am. Ry. JEng. and Maintenance of Way Assoc. Proc., vol. 6, p. 610, 1905.
CHEMICAL CHARACTER OF THE WATEES. 287

Rating of waters for boiler use according to proportion of incrusting and corroding constituents and according to proportion of foaming constituents.

Incrusting and corroding constituents (parts per million).

More 

than 

90 

200 

430

Not more 

than 

90 

200 

430 

680

Classification.a

Good. 

Fair. 

Poor. 

Bad.

Foaming c

More 

than 

150 

250 

400 .

stituents (parts per 

lillion).

ot more 

;han 

150 

250 

400

Classification.**

Good. 

Fair. 

Bad. 

Very bad.

a Am. Ry. Eng. and Maintenance of Way Assoc. 

6 Idem, vol. 9, p. 134,1908.

WATER FOB IBBIGAT 

RELATION BETWEEN APPLIED WAT

When water evaporates from the surface 

tent of salts. If all the water applied in 

rate, the constant use of any supply, no m 

be, would eventually result in an accumulai 

render the soil unproductive. If, on the ol 

not too high in mineral content were to 

deep-lying strata it would gradually leach 

highly charged area. Such extreme cond 

normal, for seepage from irrigated tracts ' 

dissolved salts; various amounts of mineral 

by crops and are removed during harvei 

methods of irrigation and drainage will pre 

lating where it will damage the delicate 

Consequently, waters of relatively low i 

applied year after year without inflicting d 

ing a certain limit of mineral content ai 

waters of an intermediate class, ^normally 

alkali in the soil, may be harmless under ju

NUMERICAL STANDARDS.

oc., vol. 5, p. 595,1904.

ON.

R AND SOILS.

of soil it leaves its conigating were to evapotter how good it might 

on of alkali that would 

.er hand, all of a water 

sep downward into the 

nt the soluble salts of a 

ions, however, are not 

irries with it a load of 

matter are also taken up 

ing; then, too, proper 

snt alkali from accumufeeding roots of crops, 

ineral content may be 

mage, but those exceeduseless for irrigation; 

,pable of increasing the 

icious usage.

The value of a water for irrigation is measured primarily by its 

content of alkali and by the probable form in which the alkali will 

be .deposited in the soil. Experience has shown that sodium carbonate is most harmful to crops, sodium chloride less so, and sodium 

sulphate least harmful of all. Basing his computations on determinations of the alkali-resisting qualities of certain cultures in
288 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

California,1 Stabler has developed formulas 2 for rating waters in 

respect to their, value for irrigation. His comparison is made by 

means of an "alkali coefficient" (&), which is defined as the depth 

in inches of water which would yield on evaporation sufficient alkali 

to render a 4- foot depth of soil injurious to the most sensitive crops. 

The sodium equivalents of the three common salts of sodium, the 

sulphate, chloride, and carbonate, are assigned relative toxicities of 

1, 5, and 10, respectively, and the maximum tolerance of sensitive cultures is taken as 1,500 pounds of sodium in the form of sulphate per 

acre-4-feet. The correctness of the latter assumption by itself might 

be questioned, but it does not lead to appreciable error, as the chief 

value of the formulas rests with the ratio of toxicities and the interpretation of the computed value of k.

k = ' if Na 0.65 CI is zero or negative. 01

I = 6 > 620 if Na-0.65 01 is positive but not greater than 0.48 SO4 . 

2

Na-0.3301-0.43S04 -"

The symbols SO4, Cl, and Na represent, respectively, the amounts 

in parts per million in the water of sulphate, chlorine, and alkali, the 

latter being commonly grouped under the name of sodium. The three 

formulas represent the different relations between the alkali and the 

acid radicles. Under the first condition, with enough or more than 

enough chlorine to satisfy sodium, it is assumed that the chlorides 

other than that of sodium are as harmful as that compound. Under 

the second condition, where the chloride and sulphate radicles 

together are sufficient to satisfy sodium, and under the third, where 

both chlorine and sulphate are insufficient to satisfy sodium, magnesium is assumed to have no deleterious effect. This base loses 

the greater part of its toxic power when much calcium is present and 

therefore this assumption seems justifiable, as not only is 'calcium 

usually high in all soils, but also it commonly exceeds the proportion 

of magnesium in natural waters. Though the formulas are based 

on the relative predominance of the radicles they should not be interpreted as signifying that the acids and bases are combined but as 

presenting the maximum possibilities of the deposition of harmful 

alkali salts in the soil layer.

1 Loughridge, R. H., Tolerance of alkali by various cultures : California Univ. Agr. Exp. 

Sta. Bull. 133, 1901. Quoted by E. W. Hilgard, Soils, p. 467, Macmillan Co., New York, 

1906. See also California Univ. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bulls. 128, 140, and 169.

2 Stabler, Herman, Some stream waters of the western United States, with chapters on 

sediment carried by the Rio Grande and the industrial application of water analyses : 

U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 174, p. 177, 1911 ; also Eng. News, vol. 64, p. 57, 

1910.
CHEMICAL CHARACTEE OF THE WATEKS. 289

The following ratings for interpreting values of the alkali coefficient are proposed by Stabler:

Classification of water for irrigation.

Value of fc.

6 to 18..................... ....................................................................

1.2105.9.......................................................................................

Classification.

Good.

Fair.

Poor.

Bad.

The value of &, showing the number of inches of water that would 

yield on evaporation sufficient alkali to inhibit the growth of very 

sensitive plants, indicates the relative degree of care that is essential 

in applying a water to irrigated tracts. As defined by Stabler, 

"good" waters are those that can be used for many years without 

special care to prevent alkali accumulation. Waters classed as "fair" 

require special care to prevent gradual concentration of alkali, except 

in loose soils with free natural drainage. Care in selection of soils 

has been imperative and artificial drainage has frequently been necessary in using waters classed as " poor." The " bad " waters contain 

so much harmful matter in solution that they are practically valueless for irrigation.

This rating, like any other that might be devised, should be liberally interpreted. It signifies only a comparison of the waters 

themselves on the basis of their mineral content. It does not signify 

the possibility of raising good crops on land to which the waters may 

be applied, because it does not take into account the alkali content 

and the texture of the soil, conditions of drainage, the method of 

irrigation, the duty of the water, or the other factors on which agricultural success depends. As the rating is based on common irrigation practice in the arid and semiarid regions of the United States, 

it is probably too severe for a well-watered region like eastern Arkansas; therefore, it may safely be concluded that waters of eastern 

Arkansas that have been classified as good on the basis of this rating 

will give no trouble whatever by deposition of alkali.

WATER FOR DOMESTIC USE. 

PHYSICAL QUALITIES.

Entirely acceptable domestic waters are free from suspended matter, color, odor, and taste, and are fairly cool when they reach the 

consumer. The nearer waters approach these conditions the more 

satisfactory they are for general use. Suspended mineral matter 

clogs pipes, valves, and faucets. Growths of microscopic plants 

form tufts or layers in pipes and well casings and sometimes clog 

11674° WSP 399 16 19
290 GEOLOGY AND GROUND\TATERS, H NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

them, and detached particles give the water an unsightly appearance and stain clothes washed in it. So far as is known such growths 

do not cause disease, but some of them impart unpleasant odors to 

water. True color is usually due to dissolved vegetable matter and 

causes serious objection only when it exceeds 20 or 30 parts per 

million.

BACTERIOLOGICAL QUALITIES.

Before a water is used for domestic purposes there should be 

reasonable certainty that it is free from disease-bearing organisms 

and that it can be guarded against all chances of infection. Water 

from ponds, rivers, sloughs, and bayous liable to contamination by 

drainage from houses, privies, cesspools, stables, or irrigated fields 

should not be used for drinking without thorough purification. 

Wells should be so placed that their waters are guarded against the 

entrance of filth of any kind, either over the top or by infiltration. 

Pumps and piping in the system should also be protected. Water 

from a carefully cased well more than 20 or 30 feet deep is acceptable if the well is at a reasonable distance from privies, cesspools, 

and other sources of pollution. Many open dug wells and the pits 

constructed as reservoirs around the tops of many casings are frequently exposed to fecal contamination from above or through 

cracks in poorly built side walls. Care should be taken that the 

casings of deep wells do not become leaky near the surface of the 

ground so as to allow pollution to enter. As a matter of ordinary 

precaution the ground should be kept clean and water- should not 

be allowed to become foul or stagnant near any well, no matter how 

deep. If shallow dug wells are necessary they should be constructed 

with water-tight walls extending as far as practicable into the well 

and also a short distance above ground. The floor or curbing should 

be water-tight and pumps should be used in preference to buckets 

for raising the water. Every possible precaution should be taken 

to prevent feet scrapings and similar dirt from getting into the well. 

Underground water is not only less likely to become contaminated if 

protected from surface washings, air, and light, but it keeps better 

and is less likely to develop microscopic plants that give it an 

unpleasant taste.

CHEMICAL QUALITIES.

Amounts of dissolved substances permissible in a domestic supply 

depend much on their nature. No more than traces of barium, 

copper, zinc, or lead should be present because these substances are 

poisonous. The occurrence of these elements in measurable amounts 

in ordinary waters is so rare that tests for them are not usually
CHEMICAL CHARACTER THE WATERS. 291

made. Any constituent present in sufficient amount to be clearly 

perceptible to the taste is objectionable. Water containing 2 parts 

per million of iron is unpalatable to many people, and even this small 

amount can cause trouble by discoloring washbowls and tubs and by 

producing rusty stains on clothes. Tea and coffee can not be made 

satisfactorily with water containing much iron, because a black inky 

compound is formed. Four or five parts of hydrogen sulphide 

makes a water unpleasant to the taste, and this dissolved gas is 

objectionable also because it corrodes well strainers and other metal 

fittings. The amounts of silica and aluminum ordinarily present in 

well waters have no special significance in relation to domestic supply. Approximately 250 parts of 3hlorine make a water " salty," 

and less than that amount may cause corrosion. Calcium and magnesium are the chief causes of the hardness of water, which is indicated by increased consumption of

on kettles. Calcium and magnesium

uble curdy compounds with no cleansing value and preventing the

formation of a lather until these t 

cipitated. Hardness can be measu

o basic radicles have been prered by testing a water with a

standard solution of soap, but as that test was not made in analyzing

Arkansas waters the total hardnes

amounts of calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) by means of the 

following formula:

Total hardness as Ca CO3 =2.5 Ca+4.1 Mg.

The lower waters are in mineral content the more acceptable they 

are as sources of domestic supply ; yet the amount of dissolved substances that can be tolerated in drin dng water is much greater than 

that allowable in city supplies, fo 

corrosion, pipe clogging, and genenl utility have to be considered, 

inasmuch as rather high concentr itions of the common mineral 

ingredients have no apparent physiologic effect. Detailed inquiries 

by the writer in arid districts where strongly mineralized waters

have to be drunk because no better

oap and by deposition of scale 

unite with soap, forming insulhas been computed from the

supplies are available indicate

that waters exceeding in strength 300 parts per million of carbonate, 

1,500 parts of chloride, or 2,000 parts of sulphate are intolerable to 

most persons. These limits are fortunately far beyond the points 

where the substances in solution are clearly perceptible to taste. 

Though individuals are differently susceptible to the effects of such 

mineral matter it may be concluded that in general water without a 

disagreeable taste may be drunk without fear of harmful effect by 

its mineral ingredients. This comment does not of course take into 

consideration the possibility of contamination by organic matter or 

infection by disease germs.
292 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS. 

PURIFICATION OF WATER. 

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.

Purification of water is the removal or reduction in amount of 

substances that render waters in their raw state unsuitable for use, 

and it is practiced on a large scale to render the supplies safe and 

unobjectionable for drinking, to reduce the amount of the mineral 

ingredients injurious to boilers, or to remove substances injurious to 

machinery or to industrial products.

Removal of bacteria, especially those causing disease, and removal 

of turbidity, odor, taste, and iron are the principal requirements in 

purification of a municipal supply, elimination of bacteria and turbidity being the most important. The common methods of effecting 

such purification are slow filtration through sand and rapid filtration 

through sand after coagulation, both methods usually being combined with sedimentation.1 Thoroughly efficient filters of either 

type remove 98 per cent or more of the bacteria.

Removal of scale-forming and neutralization of corrosive constituents are the chief aims in preparing water for steam making. For 

this two general methods are employed precipitation by chemicals 

followed by sedimentation and heating with or without chemicals, 

usually followed by rapid filtration. The first process is carried on 

in cold-water softening plants and the second in feed-water heaters. 

Some waters that have to be used because no better supplies are 

available are so bad that neither of these processes is practicable, and 

such supplies are distilled. Distilled water, which is practically free 

from all dissolved and suspended matter, must also be used in certain 

industries. Recent improvements in multiple-effect evaporators have 

greatly reduced the cost of distillation, so that it is now economical 

to distill for industrial and domestic use many waters heretofore 

considered too highly mineralized to be treatable, and large factories, 

hotels, and even municipalities have installed multiple-effect stills.

METHODS OF PURIFICATION.

Besides the above-mentioned systems of purification many minor 

processes are used, sometimes alone, but more frequently as adjuncts 

to filters or softeners. Coarse suspended matter can be removed by 

rapid filtration through ground quartz or similar material in units 

of convenient size provided with arrangements for washing the filtering medium similar to those used in mechanical filters. Very turbid 

waters may be first allowed to stand in large sedimentation basins 

to reduce the cost of operating the filters by removing a large part

1 For descriptions of filters see Johnson, G. A., The purification of" public water supplies : U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 315, 1913.
CHEMICAL CHARACTER OF THE WATERS. 293

of the suspended solids. Supplies containing much iron are aerated 

by being sprayed into the air or by being allowed to trickle over 

rocks, thus precipitating the iron so that it can readily be removed 

by rapid filtration.

Calcium hypochlorite, sodium hypochlorite, and free chlorine gas 

are used to disinfect drinking water, and treatment with these substances is now widely practiced, either as an adjunct to filtration or 

as an emergency precaution where supplies otherwise untreated are 

believed to be contaminated. Disinfection by this method is not a 

substitute for purification by filtration for it does not remove suspended matter nor appreciable amounts of color, organic matter, 

swampy tastes, or odors, and it does not soften water.1

SLOW SAND FILTRATION.

Slow sand filtration consists in causing the water to pass downward through an artificial layer of fine sand.

On the bottom of a water-tight basin commonly constructed of 

concrete, perforated tiles or pipes laid in the form of a grid are covered with a foot of gravel graded in size from 25 to 3 millimeters in 

diameter from bottom to top. A layer of fine sand 3 to 4 feet in depth 

is put over the gravel, which serves only to support the sand. When 

water is applied on the surface it passes through the sand and the 

gravel and flows away through the underdrain of tiles. The suspended materials, including bacteria, are removed by the sand, the 

action of which is rendered more efficient by the rapid formation of a 

mat of finely divided sediment on the surface. When this film has 

become so thick that filtration is unduly retarded, the water is 

allowed to subside below the surface and about half an inch of sand 

is removed, after which filtration is resumed. The sand thus taken 

off is washed to free it from the collected impurities and is replaced 

on the beds after they have been reduced about a foot in thickness by 

successive scrapings. As cleaning necessitates temporary withdrawal 

of filters from service, they are divided into units of convenient size, 

usually one-half to 1 acre each, so that the operation of the entire 

system may not be interrupted. Most modern filters are roofed and 

sodded, as this practice facilitates cleaning by preventing the formation of ice, permits work on the filter beds in all kinds of weather, 

inhibits algse growths, and prevents agitation of the water by wind 

and rain.

The foregoing paragraphs describe the esential features of a slow 

sand filter, but several adjuncts render this system more efficient. 

A clear-water basin for the filtered supply, covered to prevent dete1 Johnson, G. A., op. cit., p. 71.
294 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

rioration of the water, is provided in order that the varying rate of 

consumption may not affect the rate of filtration. Clarification of 

turbid water is rendered more economical by allowing it to stand 

for one to three days, during which a large portion of the suspended 

matter is deposited, so that the time between sand scrapings is 

lengthened. Objectionable odors and tastes may be removed by 

aeration before or after filtration. Killing the bacteria before filtration by use of chlorine or other germicides is practiced.

Slow sand filtration removes practically all the suspended matter 

and the bacteria. Color is only slightly reduced, and the hardness is 

not changed. The process is specially adapted to waters low in 

color, suspended matter, and animal pollution. Very small particles 

of clay are not removed by these filters and for water carrying such 

particles only for short periods occasional addition of a coagulant 

before filtration is advisable.

RAPID SAND FILTRATION.

The distinctive features of the rapid sand process are the coagulant 

pnd the high rate of filtration. While the raw water is entering the 

sedimentation basin, which is smaller than that used with slow sand 

filters, it is treated with a definite proportion of some coagulant, 

usually aluminum sulphate, which forms a gelatinous precipitate 

that unites and incloses the suspended material, including the 

bacteria, and absorbs the organic coloring matter. This combined 

action destroys color and makes suspended particles larger and therefore more readily removable. The proper amount of coagulant to 

be used is determined by the amounts of color, organic matter, and 

suspended matter, and by the fineness of the suspended matter, and 

it is best ascertained by direct experimentation with the water to be 

purified. Much of the trouble in operating the earlier types of 

rapid filters has been caused by failure to produce a good "floe" or 

precipitate because of improper ratios of coagulant and alkalinity. 

Ferrous sulphate instead of aluminum sulphate is used as a cogulant 

in some filtration plants; lime must be added with it in order to 

bring about proper coagulation.

The water, after having been mixed with the coagulant, is allowed 

to stand three or four hours in the sedimentation basin, where a large 

proportion of the suspended particles is deposited. It is then passed 

rapidly through beds of sand to remove the rest of the suspended 

matter. Many filters now in use are built in cylindrical form 10 

to 20 feet in diameter, and some are so designed that filtration can be 

hastened by pressure. The sand, 30 to 50 inches deep and coarser 

than that used in slow sand filters, rests on a metallic floor containing
CHEMICAL CHAKACTEE OP THE WATEKS. 295

perforations large enough to allow ready issue of the water but small 

enough to prevent passage of sand grains. When the filter has become clogged the flow of water is reversed, filtered water being forced 

upward through the sand to wash it and to remove the impurities, 

which pass over the top of the filter with the wasted water. A revolving rake with long prongs projecting downward into the sand 

mixes it during washing and prevents it from becoming graded into 

spots of coarse or fine particles. In recently constructed works rectangular filters 300 to 1,300 square feet in area have been built, and 

compressed air forced through the sand at intervals is used instead 

of a revolving rake for agitating the sand during washing. Larger 

orifices in the strainers are also being used, and the introduction of 

sand is prevented by fine gravel over the strainer pipes. The rate of 

filtration is from 100,000,000 to 120,000,000 gallons per acre per day. 

The time between washings is 6 to 12 hours, depending principally 

on the turbidity of the water applied to the filter.

Mechanical filtration removes practically all suspended matter, reduces the color to an amount that is unobjectionable, and under some 

conditions removes part of the dissolved iron. The permanent hardness of the water is increased in proportion to the amount of sulphate added by the coagulant, and if only enough lime to decompose the coagulant is added the total hardness is slightly increased. 

If larger amounts of lime are added, however, the total hardness is 

reduced. If soda ash is used in place of lime, the foaming constituents of water are slightly increased. The chemicals are always added 

in solution.

COLD-WATER SOFTENING.

The principal objects of water softening are to remove the substances that cause incrustations in boilers, particularly calcium and 

magnesium, and to neutralize those that cause corrosion. Chemicals 

of known strength dissolved in water are added to the raw supply 

in such proportion as to precipitate all the dissolved constituents 

that can be economically removed by such treatment. The water is 

then allowed to stand long enough to permit the precipitate to settle, 

after which the clear effluent is drawn off or the partly clarified effluent may be filtered very rapidly through thin beds of coke, sponge, 

excelsior, bagging, or similar material in order to remove particles 

that have not subsided in the tanks. The water softeners on the 

market differ from each other principally in the precipitant, in the 

filtering medium, if one is used, and in the mechanism regulating 

the mixing of the chemicals with the water. Installations may be of 

any size to suit consumption, and the process can be combined with
296 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

rapid sand filtration for purifying municipal supplies. Among the 

substances that have been proposed as precipitants are sodium carbonate (soda ash), silicate, hydrate (caustic), fluoride, and phosphate, 

barium carbonate, oxide, and hydrate, and calcium oxide (quicklime) , but of these substances lime and soda ash are almost exclusively 

used on account of their excellent action and comparative cheapness. 

When soda ash (Na2CO3 ) and lime dissolved in water to form a 

solution of calcium hydrate [Ca(OH) 2] are added to a water in 

proper proportion free acids are neutralized, free carbon dioxide is 

removed, bicarbonates are decomposed, and iron, aluminum, and 

magnesium hydrates and calcium carbonate are precipitated. The 

precipitate in settling takes down with it a large proportion of the 

suspended matter. Such treatment with lime and soda ash removes 

the incrusting constituents practically to the limit of their solubility; 

the calcium added as lime also is precipitated. Sodium, potassium, 

sulphate, and chloride are left in solution, and the alkalies are increased in proportion to the quantity of soda ash added; that is, the 

foaming constituents are increased and this fixes the maximum 

amount of incrustants that can be treated. The maximum amount 

of incrustants left in a treated water is determined by the solubility 

of the precipitated substances and by the completeness of the reaction 

between the added chemicals and the dissolved matter. It has been 

brought below 90 parts per million in some well-treated waters. The 

sulphate radicle can be removed by using barium compounds, which 

precipitate barium sulphate, but the poisonous effect of even small 

amounts of barium and the relatively high cost of its salts are great 

objections to their use. The chlorides are not changed, in amount by 

water softening. The chemicals should be very thoroughly mixed 

with the raw water and sufficient time should be allowed for complete 

reaction, which proceeds rather slowly, for otherwise precipitation 

will occur later in pipe lines or in boilers.

FEED-WATER HEATING.

Water heaters are designed primarily to utilize waste heat in stationary boiler plants by raising the temperature of the feed water and 

thereby lessening the work of the boilers themselves, but they also 

effect some purification, and many heaters have been specially designed with that end in view.

" Open" heaters, which utilize exhaust steam, are operated at 

atmospheric pressure. In most forms the steam enters at the bottom 

and the water at the top, and intimate contact between the two is 

obtained by spraying the water or by alloAving it to trickle over or 

to splash against plates. In this manner the water is quickly heated
CHEMICAL CHARACTER OP THE WATERS. 297

nearly to boiling temperature. Dissolved gases are expelled, bicarbonates are decomposed, and iron, aluminum, part of the magnesium, 

and calcium equivalent to the carbonates after decomposition of the 

bicarbonates are precipitated as hydrates, oxides, and carbonates 

under varying conditions of temperature, pressure, and time. The 

precipitate agglomerates the particles of suspended matter and makes 

them more readily removable by sedimentation and filtration. The 

slowness with which the reactions take place and the presence of acid 

radicles other than carbonate to hold the bases in solution prevent 

complete removal of calcium and magnesium. The addition of soda 

ash in proper proportion, however, effects fairly complete precipitation of the alkaline earths, and apparatus for constant introduction of 

this chemical in solution may be provided. After the precipitate has 

been formed the water passes through filters of burlap, excelsior, 

straw, hay, wool, coke, or similar materials, arranged in units that 

can readily be cleaned. Open heaters operated without a chemical 

precipitant remove substances that are soft and bulky and leave in 

the water constituents that form hard scale; scale from water treated 

without chemicals in such heaters is, therefore, not so great in amount 

but is harder than that formed by the raw water.

" Closed " heaters are heated usually by exhaust steam but are operated at or near boiler temperature and pressure. In them the water 

is passed through tubes surrounded by steam or around steam pipes, 

and manholes or other openings are provided for cleaning the scale 

from the tubes. As the water is heated under pressure, some precipitation takes place, but closed heaters are not so efficient in this respect 

as open heaters, because they do not permit escape of the gases liberated from the water. This objection does not hold if treatment in a 

closed heater follows treatment in an open heater, from which the 

gases escape, and several systems accomplish very good purification by 

using a unit of each type in series.

Economizers consist essentially of water tubes set in the furnace 

flues in such manner as to utilize the waste heat of the flue gases. 

Facilities are provided for cleaning scale from the inside and soot 

from the outside of the tubes. The water in the tubes can be heated 

under pressure to much higher temperature than in open or closed 

heaters, and conditions of ordinary boiler operation are approximated. The precipitation of incrustants varies greatly with the normally fluctuating temperature of flue gases.
298 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS. 

SURFACE WATERS.

Series of analyses indicate the composition of the waters of 

Arkansas River at Little Rock and Mississippi River at Memphis, 

Tenn., but neither set correctly represents the general quality of surface waters in the lowlands of Arkansas, because both streams drain 

immense basins above the lowlands and receive relatively little of 

their discharge from them. Unfortunately, no analyses of water 

from the smaller rivers are available, and consequently little can be 

said regarding their quality. The waters of White River and practically all the smaller streams of eastern and northeastern Arkansas 

are undoubtedly lower in mineral content, softer, and therefore better 

for general use than that of either the Mississippi or the Arkansas. 

It is probable that none of the surface water contains as much mineral 

matter as that from the wells of the area and that none is too poor in 

quality to be adaptable to general use. As surface waters in such a 

low, flat country, especially in the thickly settled districts, where irrigation is extensively practiced, are likely to be subject to contamination and to carry fine silt, they should not be used for drinking without first being properly filtered.

Samples of water were collected daily from Arkansas River at the 

waterworks intake, Little Rock, through the courtesy of Mr. W. J. 

Riley, superintendent of waterworks, and tested at laboratories maintained by the United States Geological Survey from November 1, 

1906, to October 24, 1907. The daily samples were united in sets of 

10, and the analyses of the composites thus obtained are given in 

the following table. The water is highly mineralized and frequently 

very muddy; its average content of scale-forming ingredients is 

about 210 parts per million, or slightly more than 12 grains per 

gallon, and its average hardness is about 190 parts per million. 

Though it is practicable to remove the suspended matter and a large 

proportion of the hardening constituents by filtration and use of 

chemicals, the water even then is likely to foam in boilers and at 

times to taste brackish because of the salt in it. The striking differences from time to time in the composition of the water are caused 

by fluctuations in the relative discharge of the several tributaries of 

the river, the composition of which has been discussed by Parker 1 in 

connection with his studies of Kansas waters.

1 Parker, H. N. T Quality of the water supplies of Kansas: U. S. Geol. Survey WaterSupply Paper 273, 1911.
CHEMICAL CHARACTER OF THE WATERS. 299

Mineral analyses of water from Arkansas River near Little Rock, ArJc.a

[Parts per million.]

Date, 1906-7.

From 

Nov. 1

Nov. 11

Nov. 21

Dec. 3

Dec. 20

Jan. 14

Feb. 2

Feb. 21

Mar. 8

Mar. 29

Apr. 13

Apr. 23

May 3

May 14

May 24

June 20

July 19

Aug. 8

Aug. 18

Aug. 30

Sept. 9

Oct. 7

To 

Nov. 10

Nov. 20

Dec. 2

Dec. 19

Jan. 11

Jan. 31

Feb. 20

Mar. 7

Mar. 28

Apr. 12

Apr. 22

May 2

May 13

May 23

June 2

July 18

Aug. 5

Aug. 17

Aug. 29

Sept. 8

Oct. 6

Oct. 24

Mean..........

Percentage of anhydrous residue

t^> . j^

2

6-1

270

140

140

1,000

320

1,320

275

220

450

235

290

285

1,500

860

450

2,800

270

1,000

600

3,000

280

900

755

I

1

1>r^

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1GQ

172

96

135

894

294

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0.64

.69

.96

.89

.92

1,567 1.19

206 .75

228 1.04

413 .92

233| .99

227

192

1,073

961

460

2,730

165

834

480

4,119

162

811

748

.78

.67

.72

1.12

1.02

.97

.61

.83

.80

1.37

.58

.90

.88

^i.

902

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31

20

24

47

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54

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.15

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84

86

39

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96

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20

23

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l!00

351

381

123

180

60

62

83

67

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157

415

261

155

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230

221

115

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76

106

155

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131

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72

103

211

212

153

117

98

95

15.?

o>

S^

0

'§""'

£

^

1.8

Tr.

.5

.4

1.5

2.4

3.8

3.4

1.2

1.5

1.2

2.0

3.6

6.3

1.8

2.8

1.1

1.5

4.4

1.3

.3

.2

2.0

3

S

o> §

3

0

535

568

186

276

80

87

107

'"82

103

65

102

37

40

34

87

213

610

347

181

265

262

203

33. ?

1

S .

' £;§

r-l'O

O

^

1,285

1,339

519

752

304

451

433

460

366

412

287

377

279

305

271

414

695

1,500

1,093

736

806

774

630

1.

«D^

fen**^ a^

o>

^

3.5

3.6

5.2

8.0

10.4

15.2

8.6

8.1

9.5

6.8

7.3

7.0

18.0

17.4

11.4

10.6

5.3

5.3

4.0

5.0

2.8

3.3

o Analyses November 1,1906, to January 31,1907, by W. M. Barr; February 2 to 20, 1907, by Henry S. 

Spaulding; February 21 to September 8, 1907. by Walton Van Winkle; September 9 to October 24, 1907, 

by R. B. Dole, Chase Palmer, and W. D. Collins. Gage heights from records of Weather Bureau gage at 

Little Rock.

6 Abnormal; computed as HCOs in the average.

c Fe2O3 .

Above Little Rock, Arkansas River drains 158,000 square miles in 

Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, New Mexico, and Colorado, 

and its various branches are widely diverse in quality as is indicated in the accompanying table. At Arkansas City, Kans., the river 

carries more mineral matter than at Little Rock. Cimarron River 

and Salt Fork traverse great areas of gypsum-bearing rocks and salt 

marshes before they enter the Arkansas between Arkansas City and 

Little Rock, and the heavy loads of salt and silt occasionally carried 

by the main stream come chiefly from those tributaries. On the 

other hand, northeastern branches like the Verdigris and the Neosho 

contribute calcium carbonate waters of moderate mineral content. 

The diverse character of the tributaries explains why the main stream 

at Little Rock exhibits so great variation in composition without 

apparent relation to discharge; a flood on Salt Fork or the Cimarron 

sends down salty gypsiferous water, but a flood on a tributary like 

the Neosho sends down water of relatively low mineral content. This 

continual fluctuation in composition makes treatment of the water 

very difficult.
300 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

Average chemical composition of the water of certain branches of Arkansas 

River above Little

[Parts per million.]

Constituents.

Turbidity..............................................

Silica (SiO-i) ...........................................

Iron (re)...................................... ........

Calcium (Ca) ...........................................

Sulphate radicle (S O4) .................................

Arkansas 

River at 

Arkansas 

City, Kans.

2,227 

1,596 

1.19 

31 

1.6 

95 

24 

243 

.0 

253 

193 

1.8 

292 

990

Cimarron 

River at 

Englewood, 

Kans.

811 

606 

1.03 

38 

1.4 

85 

34 

356 

.0 

308 

157 

1.7 

498 

1,324

Verdigris 

River at 

Coffeyville, 

Kans.

388 

405 

1.06 

24 

1.4 

71 

11 

33 

.0 

261 

31 

3.2 

23 

302

Neosbo

River at 

Oswego,

Kans.

225 

194 

.84 

20 

1.6 

71 

15 

27 

.0 

223 

65 

2.9 

9.7 

304

o Analyses performed by F. W. Bushong and A. J. Weith in the chemical laboratory of the University 

of Kansas, E. H. S. Bailev, director. Each set represents the average quality from December, 1906, to 

December, 1907. Quoted from TJ. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 273.

The following table gives the results of analyses of composite 

samples of water from Mississippi River at Memphis, Tenn., a few 

miles southeast of Marion, Ark. The water averages 150 parts per 

million, or slightly less than 9 grains per gallon, in its content of 

scale-forming matter and about 140 parts per million in hardness 

expressed as CaCO3 . It frequently carries heavy loads of silt that 

is contributed chiefly by Missouri Eiver. After the mud has been 

removed from the water it constitutes a very fair supply for boilers, 

though it may be somewhat improved for that purpose by being 

softened. Treatment similar to that applied at the filtration plant 

in New Orleans would render the river water anywhere between 

Memphis and New Orleans thoroughly satisfactory for domestic 

and industrial use. Though the stream receives several tributaries 

between those two points, its composition is not essentially changed, 

for the greater portion of its discharge comes from above Memphis.
CHEMICAL CHARACTER OP THE WATERS. 301

Mineral analyses of water from Mississippi River at Memphis, Tenn.a

[Parts per million.)

Date, 1907-8.

From 

Jan. 10

Jan. 21

Jan. 31

Feb. 10

Feb. 20

Mar. 2

Mar. 12

Mar. 22

Apr. 1

Apr. 11

Apr. 21

May 1

May 11

May 21

May 31

June 11

June 21

July 1

July 11

July 21

July 31

Aug. 10

Aug. 20

Aug. 30

Sept. 9

Sept .19

Sept .29

Oct. 9

Oct. 19

Oct. 29

Nov. 10

Nov. 20

Dec. 2

Dec. 13

Dec. 23

M

ToJan. 20

Jan. 30

Feb. 9

Feb. 19

Mar. 1

Mar. 11

Mar. 21

Mar. 31

Apr. 10

Apr. 20

Apr. 30

May 10

May 20

May 30

June 9

June 20

June 30

July 10

July 20

July 30

Aug. 9

Aug. 19

Aug. 29

Sept. 8

Sept. 18

Sept. 28

Oct. 8

Oct. 18

Oct. 28

Nov. 9

Nov. 19

Dec. 1

Dec. 12

Dec. 22

Jan. 1

.an. ......

Percentage of anhydrous residue.

>>

 rH

2

9

6-1

420

350

340

270

420

425

680

550

960

680

550

1,150

375

485

420

1,600

1,300

1,400

1,000

425

900

950

600

600

280

270

220

240

270

240

230

230

180

170

265

556

t-I

-jS

 d 

1

ft

3

ta

353

239

264

216

324

355

615

505

740

485

415

816

386

484

332

1,421

1,161

1,244

1,185

1,389

797

888

451

307

316

203

221

198

316

203

215

187

160

265

519

CD

S3 <n

"3 . -*^ ^

fl S

 3 a

0

O

0.84

.68

.78

.80

.77

.84

. onyu

'.7792

.71

.76

.71

1.03

1.00

.79

.89

.89

.89

1.18

3.26

.89

.93

.75

1.10

1.17

.92

.92

.73

1.32

.88

.93

1.04

.94

1.00

. 97

'51

E"H

1"3

S

B

......

......

'.'.'.".'.'.

......

......

......

......

"io"

10

7.4

8.8

11

8.8

7.9

13

8.0

3.5

7.9

O

£>SS

ta

40

39

34

37

36

34

43

40

34

22

24

31

31

19

10

19

12

16

13

14

16

21

22

17

22

24

23

14

21

20

21

10

5.6

24

26

24

11.5

f>

&

h £

0.7

.7

.20

.7

1.2

.8

.7

.7

1.3

1.3

1.4

2.8

1.6

1.1

.12

.05

1.6

.18

.30

.11

.08

.20

.13

.17

.16

.14

.22

.5

.37

.12

.52

.42

.07

.24

.56

.61

C. '.

1"a

s

1o

32

29

32

43

37

27

29

24

26

30

""42

36

46

49

41

37

39

41

36

38

39

39

35

36

43

42

36

33

36

33

36

17.3

i

s

i1

S

14

17

9.0

18

17

12

10

12

11

8.4

15

9.7

7.7

12

12

14

11

15

12

9.3

12

13

12

12

12

10

10

13

13

13

11

10

12

10

12

5.7

%

3R d +

fl =a

253 rt gS

3.3

ta

....

....

....

"is

13

13

"28

21

28

24

21

21

22

17

13

20

16

17

18

28

18

14

17

16

19

9.1

CD

3 "S

SI §s .8

a

00

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

68.4

67.2

67.2

6Tr

67.2

63.6

67.2

6Tr

68.4

613

6Tr

.0

30.5

,

^

®0 is&*0

*S

g 0

W

146

129

8?

90

112

112

10?

90

115

115

104

95

95

93

122

153

'i56

"in

143

144

149

144

130

146

145

142

134

159

159

127

106

115

124

129

CD

3

a>0 Is

3< g

ta

....

....

....

"

" 36

36

46

63

53

56

67

67

41

52

47

40

33

34

37

34

34

40

39

43

29

32

35

43

20.6

CD

0

"d -| +*' '

-^2

fc

0.3

.5

.4

.5

.6

.5

.9'.2

1.6

1.8

1.1

2.9

5.5

5.3

4.9

4.9

5.3

2.2

2.4

1.8

4.0

4.6

1.7

1.2

Tr.

Tr.

Tr.

.20

Tr.

Tr.

Tr.

Tr.

1.7

1.5

1.7

.8

S

<D .g_§3

0

6.0

7.0

7.0

5.5

7.0

10

9.5

9.5

12

6.5

8.0

9.0

5.0

5.1

6.3

5.9

5.5

8.7

6.0

12

9.0

6.8

8.0

8.5

8.4

11

9.8

9.4

9.6

11

14

16

9.0

9.6

9.6

8

C 

 t

4.1

1

1|

-H"O 

03 ra

+a

O

H

198

209

168

165

186

205

172

162

188

156

161

174

188

169

188

247

231

245

246

250

205

220

236

207

204

218

219

198

208

235

257

200

162

201

195

202

+a

a £f

<D

 Q .

9®

S

32.8

34.9

39.5

28.7

18.0

25.8

29.7

34.2

32.9

23.6

21.5

24.7

30.8

25.8

19.2

27.3

28.2

21 9

17! 8

22.9

22.9

17.0

14.8

14.1

11.8

10.1

10.0

10.9

9.9

7.0

9.0

12.0

11.6

8.4

13.5

« Analyses January 10 to May 10,1907, by Jas. R. Evans; May 11 to September 8,1907, by Walton Van 

Winkle; September 9,1907, to January 1,1908, by R. B. Dole, Chase Palmer, and W. D. Collins. Samples 

collected in main current by T. D. Shroyer. Gage heights from records of gages at Memphis maintained 

by Weather Bureau and Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army.

» Abnormal; computed as HCOa in the average.
302 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS. 

GROUND WATERS. 

CHEMICAL ANALYSES.

Forty-seven mineral analyses of water were made especially for 

this report by Dr. J. K. Bailey, of the University of Texas, in general 

accordance with the methods outlined 1 in Water-Supply Paper 236, 

except that somewhat smaller portions of the sample were taken 

for certain determinations; also the content of the alkalies (Na-f-K) 

was calculated from the reacting values of the acid and the other 

basic radicles in all analyses except those in which silica was determined. Where silica was determined the alkalies were weighed as the 

mixed chlorides (NaCl+KCl). Besides those by Dr. Bailey, 21 

analyses were procured from various sources. Most of these analyses 

were originally expressed in grains per United States gallon in 

hypothetical combinations, but they have been recomputed to ionic 

form in parts per million in order that they may be compared with 

other data. Expression of the results of water analyses in parts per 

million has been generally adopted by sanitary and research chemists and by many technical chemists in place of expression in grains 

per gallon, and the exclusive use of the former unit is delayed only 

by disinclination to adjust mental standards to the decimal system.

For convenience of those who may desire to transfer the results 

to other forms of expression it may be stated that multiplying the 

number of parts per million by 0.058 gives the equivalent in grains 

per, United States gallon of 231 cubic inches; multiplying it by 0.07 

gives the equivalent in grains per imperial gallon; and multiplying 

it by 0.00833 gives the equivalent in pounds per thousand gallons.

The analytical methods commonly employed in examining water 

permit the estimation of the elements and radicles present, the determination of the total amount of mineral matter in solution, and the 

more or less approximate separation of the incrusting from the 

nonincrusting constituents. Further than this, however, ordinary 

chemical tests give little knowledge regarding the chemical composition of mineral waters and consequently the exact amounts of the 

different salts in solution are largely conjectural. Though such salts 

as sodium chloride, potassium carbonate, and magnesium sulphate, 

for example, are probably present they are not determined as such 

and their exact amounts can not be computed from the analytical 

data. Because of that the ionic form of stating the analyses that is, 

stating the radicles present has been used in this report. The figures thus give facts and not opinions and present actual laboratory

R. B., The quality of surface waters in the United States: TJ. S. Geol. Survey 

Water-Supply Paper 236, pp. 9-39, 1909.
Chemical composition of water from wells in eastern md northeastern Arkansas.

[Parts per million.]

No.

1

2 3 4 

5 

68 

9

10 11 

12 13 14 15

1617 18

19 

20 21 2223 24

2521 

2728 29 

30

31 

32 

33 

34 

35 

36 

37

38

3940 

41

42 

43 

4445 46 

47

48 

49 

50 

5152 

53 54 

55

5<i57

58 

59 60 

61 

62 63

64 

6566 

67 

68

Location.

Town.

Arkansas County: Almyra, 2 miles northwest of. ..... Almyra, 5 miles southeast of ......

Dewitt, 6J miles east of. ........... St. Charles. 3J miles northwest of. 

Tichnor, 2i miles southeast of. .... Ulm, 1J miles southwest of ........ Clay County:

Craighead County: Bono, 1 mile north of ............. Gilkeson, 2i miles southeast of. . . Nettleton, f mile east of ..........

Obear, 3i miles northwest of. ..... Earl...:.........................

Cross County:

Hickory Ridge, 3J miles southeast of. 

Tilton, 3J miles southeast of. .....Vanndale, 7 miles west of ........

Jefferson County:

Wabbaseka, 5 miles ea*tt of ........ Lawrence County: Alicia. ............................Hoxie. ............................

Walnut Ridge, 1 mile northeast of. Lee County:Moro, 2 miles north of ............. Moro, 2f miles northwest of ....... Lonoke County: Carlisle, 1J miles north of.. ........ England .......................... England, j mile southeast of ...... Lonoke, 1J miles southwest of. ....

Lonoke, 6 miles southeast of. ...... Mississippi County: Boynton ..........................

Burdette. .........................

Manila, 3 miles southeast of ....... ..........Do ..........................

Monroe County: Brinkley . ......................... ..........Do ..........................

Brinklev, Ik miles northwest of. . . Phillips County: Helena. ...'........................

Wabash, J mile west of. ........... Poinsett County: Marked Tree. .....................

Waldenburg. 2 miles northeast of. . Waldenburg, 2t miles southwest of.

Prairie Countv: 

Devall Bluff, 3£ miles west of ......

Hazen. ...........................

Hazen, 24 miles west of ............ Hazen, 8 "miles southwest of ....... Pulaski County:

Randolph County:St. Francis County:

\Vneetlp v Zent, east of". ......................

White County:

Higginson Woodruff County: Hunter, southeast of ..............

Penrose, near. ....................

Section.

SE. Isec. 21... 

NE. Jsec. 5... 

SE. Jsec. 36... 

NE. Jsec. 36.. 

SW. Jsec. 29..

SE. Jsec. 4.... 

NE. Jsec. 6...

NE. Jsec. 19..

SE. Jsec. 8.... Sec. 26........NE. Jsec. 18..

NW. Jsec. 36.. 

SE. Jsec. 22...

SW. » sec. 2...

Sec. 21. .......

NW. Jsec. 13..NE.Jsec.1....

NW.j sec.4... S W.J sec. 32...

SW.-Jsec. 10.. 

Sec. 10........

NW. Jsec. 24.NE. Jsec. 11.. 

NE. Jsec. 29..

SW. Jsec. 20..

Sec.9. ........ 

....do........

S. Jsec. 4.....

NW. Jsec. 31..

NE. J sec. 34.. 

NW. J sec. 18 . 

SE. Jsec. 35...

N W.J sec. 23.. SW. Jsec. 18..

S W. J sec. 8. . .

Sec. 34........ 

.....do........ 

SE. Jsec. 25...

Township.

3S.4 S. 5 S. 

7 S 4 S.

7 S. 

2 S.

15 N. 13 N.14 N.

13 N.

9N.

8N.

8N.

4S. 

48.

16 N.

2N.

3N.

2N. 

2S.

2N.

IN.

16 N.14 N.14 N. 14 N.

3N.3N.

38.

UN. 

11 N. 

UN. ION.

2N.2N.

IN.

4N.

4N. 

4N. 

4 N.

5N.

5N. 

7N.

Range.

4 W. 3 W. 

5 W. 

3 W. 

2 W.

2 W. 4 W.

3E.3E. IE.

3E.

IE. 

IE.

2E.

7 W. 

7 TV.

IE.

IE. 

IE.

7 W.

9 W.9 W.

8 W. 

8E.

11 E.

9E. 9 E

2W.2W.

3E.

6E. 

2E. IE. 

3E.

5W.

6 W. 6 W.

IE.

1 W. 1 W. 

1 W.

1W. 1 W. 1 W.

Owner.

H. V. Clutter. ........................

G. W. Chambers......................Morgan & Whiting. ................... George Lacotts. ....................... W. H. Norsworthy & Co. ............ August Paulman.. . ...................

St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Ry. Co.J. E. Bobbitt. ........................

Burk & Cole ..........................

F. Kiech Manufacturing Co ...........

Town .................................

St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Ry. Co. T. A. Norviel. ........................B. V. Rogers. .........................

J.W.Blue.. ..........................St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Ry. Co.

Shelby Bros. .........................

St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Ry. Co.

S. C. Dowell..........................

Johnston Stock Co. ...................

Robert Medendorp. ...................

W H Fuller

....do................................

W.H. Hicks..........................

Mill Shoals Cooperage Co. .............

Farrell Light, Heat & Water Co .......

St. Louis, Iron Moimtain & Southern Ry. Co. Howe Lumber Co .....................

Scruggs & Swearengin... . .............Thomas Bros. ........................

C . H . Chapman .......................

St. Louis, Iron Moimtain & Southern Ry. Co.

....do....................................do................................

Riley-Harrison Co. ....................St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Ry. Co.Hunter Land & Rice Co. .............

Analyst.

J. R. Bailey........... .....do................

.....do................

.....do................

.....do................

.....do.....................do.....................do...............

J. R. Bailey........... .....do...............

.....do....................do...............

.....do................

J. R. Bailey..........

.....do....................do...............

.....do...............

J. R. Bailey...........

J. McFarland.........

.....do................

J. R. Bailey........... 

P.H.Walker.........

J. R. Bailey...............do................ ....do....................do....................do................

....do................

....do................

....do................

Arrow Boiler Compound Co.

(<*). ................... (<*). ...................

C.W.Jones........... 

J.R. Bailey...........

Regis Chauvenet & Bro.

Mo. Pacific Ry. Co.... 

Win. Krauss.... ......J. R. Bailey...........

....do.................

....do.................

....do................

J. R. Bailey...........

....do....................do....................do................

J. R. Bailey........... .....do. ............... 

....do................

Date of 

collection.

July 12,1912 Aug. 30,1912

.....do.......

Sept. 3,1912 Aug. 20,1912 Sept. 3,1912 June 24,1912

Apr. 18,1905June 24,1912 .....do.......

Aug. 20,1912

.....do.......

1905(7;

Dec. 4, 1905

Sept. 3,1912 July 5, 1912

Aug. 20,1912 July 12,1912 Aug. 30,1912 Mar. 16,1908July 5, 1912 Sept. 3,1912

May 31,1905

July 24,1905 Aug. 20,1912

July 5, 1912 July 12,1912

....do........ 

June 27,1912 June 24,1912 July 3,1912 Aug. 20,1912

Sept. 3,1912

Sept., 1904 Aug. 20,1912

Mar. 26,1908 July 1911 (?)

1903 (?) Aug. 20,1912

....do........

....do........

July 12,1912 Aug. 20,1912

Oct. 21,1910May 31,1912

Mar. 3, 1906 July 5, 1912 Aug. 30, 1912 Aug. 20, 1912 June 24,1912 July 5, 1912June 22,1912 

June 5, 1905

July 5, 1912 July 12,1912 Aug. 30, 1912

Depth of well.

Feet. 

150 174 

100 137 145 180 

162 110

9778 

103 

143 

148 

102 

474

140

65 

121

96 

167 

102 

186

90 6677

65 

177

619

145 195158 

80 70 

148 

160 

142 

175

41

1,495.5

30 

40

565 

149. 75 147.5

487 

175 

50

398 

108.5 

101 120

179

80 

127 158

S0±

(/)

170 160 139 

145 

180.8 180225 

62.5

156 

127 

124

Depth of principal waterbearing stratum.

Feet. 

90-150 95-131 80-100

56-162 

80-110

70-78 

63-103 

75-143 90-100 

33-102 

414-474

18-651 

82-12

31. -5-96

80-102

65-90 

61-66

63-77

65-177

129-145 178-195

125-156

50-70 

26-148 

90-16075^175 

24-41

/ 1,420- 

1, 495

497-565 

14-138

480

40

366-398 

28.5-108.5 

60-101 

40-120

130-179

80-127

40-80±

85-160 30-139 80-145 

33-180 

70-180

193 

50- 62.5

50-105 40-127 

60-124

Name of principal wa- ter-bearing stratum.

Pleistocene alluvium. 

.....do....................do....................do...............

.....do...............

.....do....................do....................do...............

.....do...............

.....do....................do...............

.....do...............

.....do....................do...............

Wilcox formation (?).

Pleistocene alluvium. 

.....do....................do....................do...............

.....do...............

.....do...............

Wilcox formation (?) . . 

Quaternary alluviumPleistocene alluvium. 

.....do.....................do...............

Eocene

.....do...............

.....do.....................do.....................do................

.....do................

.....do.....................do.....................do................

Quaternary alluvium .

Quaternary alluvium .Eocene................

....do................

Pleistocene alluvium. 

Quaternary alluvium. Wilcox formation .....

Pleistocene alluvium. 

....do.................

....do.................

....do.................

....do.....................do.................

....do.................

Quaternary alluvium. 

Pleistoeene alluvium.

Pleistocene alluvium. 

....do................

....do................

....do................

....do................

Pleistocene alluvium. 

....do....................do....................do................

Silica 

(SiOi).

36

40

354944

19

40 38

19

24 24

33

43 4333 33

Iron 

(Fe).

0.4 

.7 

9.1 6.9 

.8 .2 

1.7 

1. C

C4.4'

 'I 

»?

.6

c2.7

.28 

.9

2.6 

.24 .05 

cl.O

6.6 

1.0

c2.6

c2.0 

1.0

.3. 7

.6 

17.0 

4.0 

.22

4.8 

.9 

.6

c96

1.4

cl.5 c4.8

e.9 1.0 

.9

C2.7 c2.1

.9 

1.7 

.27

.9

1.1 

.9

c6.7

c3.4

e3.8 

1.1 

.6 

2.2 

.26 .7

cl.9

1.2 

.9 .6

Calcium 

(Ca).

59 79 

144 106 

101 

75 

156 

58

36

26 

31 

22 

73 

52

6696 

7985 

87 

95 7985 

896262 6783 8978

32 

98 97 49 

24 

32 

64

106

Trace.

12 22

25 

64 

64

89 

54

69 

78 

94

8766 

6450

70

55 

115 

103 

119 

91 

7643 

7.2

9285 

78

Magnesium 

(Mg).

22

25 33 39 

29 25 

51 

19

12

16 

20 

10 20 21

21

31

26

25 42 

32 22

21 

2416

14 19

36 

36

14

26 17 

15 

7.0 

14 

17

72

2.4

3.4

5.8

6.2 

31 

31

43 2227 24 3827

15 

161718

27 

35 38 38 

7 

21

8 

2.1

27 

28 21

Sodium and potassium 

Na+K).

46 

42 

72 73 

48 

16 

53 

39

1318 

1 

1 

32 

5

5.5

21 292536 26 

11

15 

1

8.77 2

125 

25 23

6 

43 

20 

1 

16 

4 

1

11

8.2 9

649 

61 5421 

2

15 

9 

1

2422 

13

29

13

3 

36 60 

45 61 21

101 

6

26 29 

13

Carbonate 

radicle 

(CO.).

0.0 

.0 

.0 .0 

.0 

.0 .0 .0

.0 .0 .0 

.0 

.0

.0 

.0

.0 .0 .0.0 

.0.0

.0 

.0.0 

.0 

.0 

.0 .0 .0 .0

.0 

.0

.0 .0 .0

.0

.0 

.0

.0 .0 .0.0

.0 .0 .0

Bicarbonate 

radicle 

(HC03).

352 

391 

374 580 

435 

373 

587 

331

164

159 146 102 

346 

241288

429 

407382 

431 

483 341352 338233244 

260380 

472 

436

169 

330 

340 

198 116 158 

247355

4

3482

246

418 440

508 

276354 

337 431

404

311 281

148

302292 

519 525 

529 

415 

360

106

28

417 409 

316

Sulphate radicle 

(S04).

2.4 4.0 

52 

8.0 

21 

6.0 

16 23

2337 32 

5.0 2.0 

1314

4.0

7.0

4.0 

86 

5.0 

4.8

20 

15

3920 

23

131 

17 

12

4.1 

51 

36 

4.0 

5.0 2.0. 

7.0

143

8.8

24 21

2.3 9.0 3.0

Low.

.8

2.0 

1.0 

1413 

.0 

5.3 

2.0

77

1118 19 

38 

11 19 

7.0

54 

8.0

8.0 4.5 7.0

Chlorine

(Cl).

33

47 

' 205 

70 

68 

8.0 

153 

8.24.7

2.0 6.0 7.0 

34 

12 

9

8.5

39 

18

37 

17 

16 

141520

5.9

6.0 

8.0

12 14 

16

6.1

86 27 

13 16 10 

14

17

7.3 

7.3

916 

47 29

100 

18 

2.7

.3 

17 

25 

17

25 

12 10 15

13

10

6.1 

45 

52 

39 

20 

14

156 

6.0

33 36 

30

Volatile 

and 

organic matter.

3

19

34

8 5

63

1 

2

8453 

97 

24

108

22

2

48

28 

6

Total 

dissolved 

solids.

369 

407 

830 614 

512 

350 

793 

315

213

180 

170 118 366 

244 

186318

424 

385

411 

520 

415 

368

362 

332

306

279 272552 425 398

175 

527 

347 

195 

159 166 

242

641

106114 

150

1,938 

437 

420

426 546 

267

180 

330 

344 420

395 472 307 284321319348 

519 587 

517 

399 

343

475 

84

420 410 339

Total 

hardness 

as 

CaC03.o

238 290 

495 425 371 

290 599 223

139

131 159 

96 

265 

216 

44

251367 304

315 

390 369 288299 

321

221

212 

245207 

370 

343

137 

352 312 

184 

89 

137 

230

560

10

44

79

88 

287 

287

399 

225

104 

283 293 391328 226 226 226

195

249248 

431 413 

453 

256 

276

140

27

341 

327 

281

Probable scaleforming ingredi- ents."

250 310 

510 

410 

380 300 

600 240

160

140 160 120 

280 

220

230370 

310

330 SCO 370 

300320 

340260250260360 

320

150 

370 350 

200 

120 

150 

250

450

4080 

120

100

280 

280

360 

220280 

300 380340250 250210

280250 430 400 

450 

320 

290

170 

60

350 330 300

Probable 

foaming ingredi- ents.o

120 

110 

190 

200 

130 

40 

140 110

40

50 

5 5 

90 

1515

60 

80

70 

100 

70 

30

40 

5

2520 

5

340 

70 

60

15 

120 

50 

5 

40 

10 

5

3020 

25

1,800 

160 

150

60 

5

40 

25 

5

60

60 

40

SO

40

10 

100 160 120 

160 

60

270 

1570 

80 

40

Probability of corrosion. o 6

N.C....

N.C.... 8V-

(?)...... N.C.... 

(?)...... N.C....(?)......

(?)...... (?)......

S!c:::: (?)......

(?)...... (?)...... N.C.....(?)...... (?)...... N.C.... 

(?)......(?)...... (?)......(?)......

(?)...... (?)......

'N.'C.'."]

N.C.... N.C.... %......

KB::::

(?)...... (?)......C. ......C.......(?)...... (?)......

N.C.... 

N.C.... N.C....

N.C..... 

N.C.....N.C.....

N.C..... 

(?)......

N.C.....N.C.....N.C.....

(?)......(?)......

(?)...... (?)...... N.C.... 

(?)...... N.C.... 

N.C....(?)...... 

(?)......N.C.... N.C....(?)......

Mineral 

content.

Moderate. 

...do..... 

High..... ...do.....

...do.....

Moderate. 

High..... Moderate.

...do........do..... ...do..... 

Low. .... 

Moderate. 

...do..... ...do.....

...do.....

...do..... ...do........do..... 

High..... Moderate. 

...do.....

...do..... 

...do.....

...do.....

...do..... 

...do.....

High..... Moderate. 

...do........do..... 

High..... Moderate. 

...do..... 

...do..... 

...do..... 

...do.....

High.....

Low. .... 

...do........do.....

High..... Moderate. 

...do.....

...do.....

High..... 

Moderate. 

...do.........do.........do...... ...do......

...do...... 

...do......

...do...... ...do.........do.........do......

...do..... 

High..... ...do..... 

...do..... 

Moderate. 

...do........do..... 

Low.....

Moderate. 

...do..... 

...do.....

Chemical character.

Ca-COj . ...do.... 

Ca-Cl. . . 

Ca-COs . 

...do.... 

...do.... ...do.... 

...do....

...do....

...do.... ...do.... 

...do.... 

...do.... 

...do.... ...do....

...do.......do.... 

...do.......do.... ...do.......do.... ...do....

...do.... 

...do.......do.......do.... ...do.......do.... ...do.... ...do....

...do.... 

...do.... 

...do.... ...do.... ...do.... ...do.... 

...do....

Na-Cl... 

Ca-SO* . 

Ca-C03 .

Na-Cl... Ca-C03 . 

...do....

Ca-C03 .. 

...do.....

Ca-COs- - 

...do..... 

...do........do.....

Ca-C03 . . 

...do........do........do.....

...do.... 

...do.... 

...do.... 

...do.... ...do.... ...do....

Na-Cl... 

Ca-COs. .

...do.... ...do.... 

...do-...

Quality for boiler 

use.

Poor.... 

...do..-- 

Bad..... 

Poor.... 

...do.... ...do.--- 

Bad..... Poor..-.

Fair.....

...do...- 

...do.... 

...do.... 

Poor.... 

...do.... 

Fair.....

Poor....

...do.-.. ...do..-....do.... 

...do...-...do...- 

...do....

...do.... 

...do....

...do....

...do.... ...do.......do...- ...do.... ...do....

Fair..... Poor.... 

...do...- 

Fair..... 

...do.... ...do.... 

Poor....

Bad.....Poor....

Good.... 

Fair.....

Very bad Poor.... 

...do....

Poor ....

Fair.....

Poor .... 

...do..... 

...do.....

...do.....

Poor..-- 

...do.....

Fair.....

Poor....

...do...- 

Bad....- 

...do.... 

...do.... 

Poor.... 

...do....

...do.... 

Good....Poor.... 

...do.... 

...do....

Quality for 

domestic 

use.

Fair..... 

...do.... 

Poor .... 

...do.... 

Fair..... 

...do.... 

Poor.... 

Fair.....

Good....

...do.... ...do.... 

...do.... 

Fair..... 

...do.... 

Good....

Fair....

...do.... ...do.......do.... ...do....

...do.... 

...do....

Poor.... 

Fair.....

...do.......do.... ...do....

...do.... ...do.... 

...do....

Good.... 

Poor.... Fair..... 

Good.... 

Fair..... 

Good.... 

Fair.....

Bad.....

Good....

...do.... ...do....

Bad..... 

Fair..... 

...do....

Fair..... 

...do.....

Fair..... 

...do..... ...do........do..... 

...do........do..... ...do.....

...do........do.....

...do....

...do.... ...do.... 

...do.... 

...do.... 

...do....

...do.... 

Good....Fair..... 

...do.... 

...do....

Quality for irrigation.

Good. 

Do. 

Fair. 

Do. 

Good. 

Do. 

Fair. 

Good.

Do.

Do. 

Do. Do. 

Do. Do. Do.

1 

Do.

Do. Do.

Do. Do. Do. Do.Do. Do.Do.

Do. 

Do.

Fair. 

Good. 

Do.

Do. 

Do. Do. Do.r>0 .Do. 

Do.

i 

Do,

Do. Do.

Poor. 

Good. 

Do.

Good. 

Do.Do. 

Do. Do. 

Do.

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do.Do.

Do.

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Fair. Good.Fair. Good.

Do. Do. Do.

o Computed. &C.=corrosive; N. C.=noncorrosive; (?)=uncertain or doubtful. 

11674° WSP 399 16. (To face page 302.)

d Quoted from U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 195, pp. 185-86, 1907. «Aluminum (Al,) 0.2 part; phosphate radicle (PO4 ), 1.5 parts. / Mixed water from two wells respectively 50 and 97 feet deep.
CHEMICAL CHARACTER OP THE WATERS. 303

results for consideration and criticism by others than those who 

made the tests.

The available chemical analyses of water from wells in eastern and 

northeastern Arkansas are given in the accompanying table, which 

is arranged alphabetically by counties. The position of the wells 

from which samples were taken is indicated in Plate XI. The table 

gives the water-bearing stratum from which the supply of each 

well chiefly comes, as determined by Messrs. Stephenson and Crider. 

The total hardness, the probable content of scale-forming and of foaming ingredients, and the probability of corrosion of each water have 

been computed from the data of the analyses and entered in the 

table. Each water has also been classified in respect to its availability for boiler and domestic use and for irrigation. These computations and ratings have been made in accordance with the formulas and standards already discussed (pp. 281-291). It should be 

thoroughly recognized that the ratings refer only to the effect of the 

mineral ingredients of the waters and not to other conditions. The 

statement that a water is good for irrigation implies that it does not 

contain enough alkali to cause trouble under the conditions of irrigation commonly practiced in this country, but the statement does 

not take into account soil or crop conditions. The statement that a 

water is good for domestic use implies likewise that it does not contain harmful or otherwise objectionable mineral substances in solution, but the water may or may not be exposed to harmful pollution.
304 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

FIELD ASSAYS.

The field assays by Messrs. Stephenson and Crider in the following table were made according to the methods described by Leighton.1 

The results are necessarily less accurate than those obtained by analysis in a laboratory, because of the approximate nature of the tests and 

because of the conditions under which the examinations were made. 

Iron, carbonate, bicarbonate, sulphate, and chlorine were estimated, 

but as total hardness was not estimated it is impracticable to interpret 

except in a general way the results of the tests. The figures serve, 

however, to amplify the data in the table of analyses (p. 302), as they 

furnish some information regarding the water of wells not otherwise 

examined. The total mineral content of the waters has been calculated from the estimates of the acid radicles. The relatively high 

color reported for many of the samples is rather surprising as most 

deep ground waters are only slightly colored. If these figures represent true color and not the apparent color caused by a slight precipitate of iron or other substance they indicate the presence of more 

or less vegetable matter, not necessarily harmful, however, in the 

alluvial deposits.

1 Leighton, M. O., Field assay of water: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 151, 

1905. See also Dole, R. B., The rapid examination of water in geologic surveys of water 

resources: Econ. Geology, vol. 6, pp. 340-362, 1011.
Field assays of ground ivaters in eastern and northeastern Arkansas. 

[Parts per million.]

No.

16

26

36

46

Kb

66

Id

86

96

106

116

126

186

146

156

166

17rt

18d

1«W

?M

?16

?,26

?,3d

24d

2.W

?,6<i

?7d

?Rri!

flfld

30(1

31d

3?W

33d

34d

35d

36d

37d

3Sd

396

406

416

426

4,?«i

44rf

45ri

46d

47d

48d

4<M

ftOi

ffld

5?«*

Location.

ARKANSAS COUNTY.

Dewitt.... ..................

.....do......................

.....do......................

CKAIGHEAD COUNTY.

Brookland. .................

.....do......................

Culberhouse. ...............

Dee.........................

Greenboro..... .. ....

Gubertown, 2 miles northwest of. 

Jonesboro ...................

.....do......................

Nettleton......... .

.....do......................

.....do......................

O'Bear ............. ........

....do......................

CKITTENDEN COUNTY.

Ivoton. .....................

Marion. .....................

.....do......................

.....do......................

Turrell.. ....................

GKEEN COUNTY.

LONOKE COUNTY.

England ....................

Jebb........................

Jebb, 3 miles west of ........

" Old River "...............

Toltec.... ..................

MISSISSIPPI COUNTY.

Blytheville... ..............

.....do......................

.....do......................

.....do......................

.....do......................

....do......................

PHILLIPS COUNTY.

POOTSETT COUNTY.

Tyronza. ...................

Weiner . ....................

....do......................

PRAIEIE COUNTY.

DevallBluff................

....do......................

DevallBluff, * mile south of.

DevallBluff................

Hazen. .....................

....do......................

Tollville... .................

Tollville, | mile west of. ....

PULASKI COUNTY.

Scolt........................

Source.

Driven well of H. Sprague ............

Bored well............................... .

Bored well.............

Town well ..............

Well of F. J. Borgman. ....................

Well of J. F. McCarty.... ........ ..........

Wellof J. W.Johnson..............

Still House spring. .............................................

Well at Warner Hotel... .................................

Driven well of Henrv Kiech. ............

Driven well of F. L. Rice....................... .....

Driven well of M. L. Woodson. ...........

Driven well of L. D. Bland. ...............

Dug well of L. D. Bland...................

Lake Marion g. ..................................

Well of Baker Lumber Co. ......................... ...

Driven well of J. E.Walter.................... .. ..

Town well ....................................................

Driven well of J. A. Collins ....................................

Wellof Mr. Laughlin... .......................... . .

Driven well of W. T. Overst. ..............

Well at Beal's Hotel...........................................

Cistern of L. A. Morris I...................

Driven well of Mrs. V. C. Head............ ...... . . . . .

WellofF. Gates........................... .

Bored well of Jacob Frohlich. ..............

WellofW. B. Coyle...,. ................... . ..... . .......

Town well.......................... . ...

Bored wellofB. F. Russell................

WellofE. H. Toll.... ........................ ..... .........

Wellof C. V. Overman.......................................

WellofC. F.Chaer. ....................... ...

Date of ' collection, 

1905.

...do.....

IWav 9Q

May 29

...do..... 

Mav 30

...do.....

May 24

...do.....

...do.....

...do.....

...do.....

May 31

May 8

...do.....

...do.....

May 8

...do.....

May 5

do

...do.....

May 27

...do.....

May 11

May 8

...do.....

...do....

...do.....

...do.....

...do.....

...do.....

...do.....

May 8

Depth of well.

Feet. 

on

QC

40

25

IKjl

1C

«186

172

on

OK 1

/147

65

on

1 S

70

21

h 864

65

00

4^

45

ox

Oft

45

21

60

40

20

28

00

75

16

40

101.5

OK

QK

75

75

R^

inc

7ft

82

40

42

Name of principal waterbearing stratum.

.....do......................

.....do......................

.....do (?)...................

.....do......................

.....do.(?) ..................

.....do......................

.....do......................

Wilcox formation (?)........

.....do.(?) ..................

.....do..... .................

.....do......................

.....do......................

.....do......................

.....do.. ....................

.....do......................

.....do......................

.....do.......................

.....do.... ..................

.....do......................

Wilcox formation (?)........

.....do......................

.....do......................

.....do......................

.....do......................

.....do.... ..................

.....do......................

.....do......................

....do......................

Color.

49

Q1

Q1

r*7^

1 C

4

1C

57

j4C

1C

0

102

0

71

102

IQO

0

OK

18

0-1

0

30

31

0

00-1

9°.

31

0

0

0

0

0

45

0

45

47S

22

0

si

0

122

122

63

57

18

1C

133

4

0

Iron 

(Fe).

3

"

1.5

1

0

0

0

0

22

0

0

0

0

0

0

3

C

26

0

18

0

11

.2

3

40

11

0

11

1

0

10

3

Trace.

0

14

6

0

2

0

0

(J)

3

2.5

4

.2

4.5

0

C)

Carbonate 

radicle 

(C03 ).

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

6

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

12

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

31

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Bicarbonate 

radicle 

(HC03).

O7Q

371

179

84

334

00,1

48

36

1,145

1/10

215

95

382

359

311

383

227

96

526

335

430

239

359

239

239

419

227

107

96

442

196

48

36

627

143

63

382

119

310

/1C

454

454

84

QCO

359

,101

454

358

670

Sulphate 

radicle 

(S04).

0

0

0

0

65

100

0

0

0

0

Trace.

60

0

0

0

Trace.

0

100

0

0

0

0

35(?)

45

0

140

40

60

0

0

110

Trace.

Trace.

0

0

0

40

Trace.

0

0

0

(*)

380

fjr\ ( } o

50

Trace.

Trace.

85

Chlorine 

(Cl).

35

15

85

10

100

10

15

15

270

OK

30

105

10

25

25

25

10

95

10

25

15

15

65

25

15

15

30

10

20

40

25

35

15

40

15

20

10

10

25

15

15

Kf\

20

25

300

25

15

120

20

105

25

Total 

dissolved 

solids."

460

290

500

660

120

570

490

100

90

1,500

180

260

660

130

400

380

340

380

540

150

520

340

420

390

450

260

460

500

330

150

180

450

420

95

130

590

180

150

430

170

320

360

150

470

1,200

400

360

670

450

510

770

o Computed by the formula, total dissolved solids=35+1.73 CO3+0.86 HCO3+1.48 SO»+1.62 Cl.

6 Assay by L. W. Stephenson.

c Turbidity, 80 parts.

<J Assay by A. F. Crider.

e Depth of principal water-bearing stratum 175 (?)-186 feet.

/ Depth of principal water-bearing stratum 87-147 feet.

11674° WSP 399 16. (To face page 304.)

g Surface water.

h Depth of principal water-bearing stratum 840-864 feet.

* Rain water evidently mixed with ground water. 

i Less than 1 part.

* Less than 5 parts.

* More than 11 parts.

CHEMICAL CHAKACTER OF THE WATERS. 305 

QUALITY IN RELATION TO WATER-BEARING STRATUM. 

QUATERNARY ALLUVIUM.

More than five-sixths of the wells whose waters have been analyzed 

draw chiefly from the alluvium, and most of these are situated west 

of Crowleys Ridge (see PL XI) in the Advance lowlands. Indeed, 

the economic value of ground waters in this area is practically a 

question of the value of waters from the alluvium, which almost 

everywhere yields large supplies at moderate depths. According to 

Mr. Stephenson, the alluvium consists of loams, clays, sands, and 

gravels; in the Pleistocene deposits there is a general downward 

gradation from fine surface silts or loams through compact clays and 

fine sands to coarse sands and gravels at the base. Dark carbonaceous 

clays, logs, limbs of trees, and peaty accumulations representing 

buried swamp deposits are occasionally encountered in boring wells.

The following table gives a resume of the analyses of water from 

the alluvium and shows the approximate average composition of the 

supplies and the general range of their constituents. The figures 

have been rounded off to avoid appearance of undue accuracy. There 

is a wide range in mineralization, as may be expected in water from 

any irregularly bedded deposit, and a few waters exceed the limits 

noted in the table. More than three-fourths of the supplies, however, range in mineral content from 200 to 520 parts and in hardness 

from 150 to 400 parts per million. In other words, they are calcium 

carbonate waters of moderate mineral content, rather hard, but containing relatively little alkali. Sulphate (SO4 ) exceeds 40 parts per 

million in only five analyses of water from the alluvium and is generally less than 20 parts. Chlorine exceeds 40 parts in nine, but is as 

low as 10 parts in a large proportion.

Approximate chemical composition of waters from the alluvium in eastern and

northeastern Arkansas.

Constituents.

Silica (Si02).... ................................................

Calcium (Ca)...................................................

Sulphate radicle (SO<). .................................. 1 ... : .

Chlorine (Cl)....... ............................................

Approximate 

average..

Parts per 

million.

40 

75 

25 

25 

0 

340 

15 

25 

370 

280

Percentage of anhydrous 

residue.

11 

20

7 

7 

44

4

7

Approximate range 

(parts per million).

Highest.

i20 

40 

70 

0 

550 

80 

85 

800 

500

Lowest.

25 

10 

5 

0 

120 

1 

5 

160 

120

11674° WSP 399 1(
306 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATEBS, NOBTHEASTERN ARKANSAS.

The hardness of the waters indicates the presence of a rather 

large proportion of calcareous material in the alluvium, and that 

condition indeed might be expected in view of the great abundance 

of limestone in the upper basin of Mississippi River and its great 

tributaries, from which the alluvium is largely derived. Compact 

crystalline limestones and dolomites comprise much of the older 

sedimentary formations there, and later deposits are also strongly 

calcareous. Contrary to common belief the debris carried from limestone regions is not completely robbed of its calcareous material by 

the water that removes it and later deposits it as alluvial material; 

limestone even when finely divided is dissolved in appreciable quantity only in so far as the carbon dioxide in the contiguous water 

renders it soluble; consequently alluvium derived from limestone 

retains much of its calareous material and wherever waters containing free carbon dioxide percolate through such alluvium they 

may become as hard as those traversing limestone itself.

It is interesting to note the similarity in composition of water from 

the alluvium of Arkansas and that from calcareous deposits in 

Indiana and Ohio. (See table, p. 307.) The unconsolidated deposits 

of the latter States are mostly glacial drift and yield waters of 

similar quality; the limestones of the same region also yield similar 

supplies. The alluvium of Arkansas yields water containing practically as much bicarbonate, only slightly less calcium and magnesium, but much less sulphate. The alluvial water contains about 

three-fourths as much mineral matter, which in comparison with the 

waters of Indiana and Ohio is lower in its percentage of sulphate 

and slightly higher in its percentage of carbonate. The ratios of 

magnesium to calcium in lines A to E, inclusive, are, respectively, 

1:2.6, 1:2.9, 1:2.0, 1:2.6, and 1:3.0 that is, with the exception of 

water from the "Niagara" limestone, which is highly dolomitic, 

these waters contain 33 to 39 per cent as much .magnesium as 

calcium. These comparisons show that this alluvium yields water 

almost as hard as that from old compact limestones, and they also 

show that even thoroughly washed material may strongly impregnate with mineral matter the waters percolating through it.

The water from the limestone of the Vicksburg formation of 

Georgia, whose average composition is indicated in lines F and L 

of the following table, is more or less typical of supplies from the 

calcareous Tertiary sediments of Georgia and it is inserted for comparison. The water is very much softer and lower in mineral content 

than that of the alluvium in. Arkansas, and the relative proportions 

of calcium and magnesium are entirely different,
CHEMICAL CHARACTER OF THE WATERS. 307

Comparison of the quality of water from the Quaternary alluvium of eastern 

Arkansas with that of ground waters in Indiana, Ohio, and Georgia.

Mineral content in parts per million.

A..........

B..........

C...

D... .......

E..........

F..........

Number of 

analyses 

averaged.

120

169

20

80

54

28

Silica 

(Si02 ).

20

18

20

18

40

20

Iron

(Fe).

0.8

.8

.5

1.8

1

Calcium 

(Ca).

90

91

80

82

75

40

Magnesium 

(Mg).

35

31

40

31

25

5

Sodium 

and 

potassium 

(Na+K).

30

18

20

27

25

10

Carbonate 

radicle 

(CO,).

0

0

0

0

0

0

Bicarbonate 

radicle 

(HC03).

390

306

360

341

340

140

Sulphate 

radicle 

(BOO.

90

76

80

70

15

20

Chlorine 

(Cl).

50

47

25

19

25

5

Dissolved 

solids.

500

467

440

466

370

190

Peroentage composition of the anhydrous residues.

G..........

H. ........

I..........

J. .........

K... ......

L..........

4

4

4

11

12

0

0

0

0

0

1

18

21

18

20

20

24

7

7

9

7

7

3

5

5

7

7

5

38

35

4n

40

44

40

18

18

18

17

4

12

10

11

6

5

7

3

A, G. Unconsolidated deposits of southwestern Ohio.

B, H. Unconsolidated deposits of north-central Indiana.

C, I. "Niagara" limestone of southwestern Ohio.

D, J. Limestones yielding fiesh water in north-central Indiana. _

E, K. Quaternary alluvium of eastern Arkansas.

F. L. Limestone of Vicksburg formation of Georgia.

(A, G, C, and I from U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 259, p. 212,1912; B, H, D, and J from U. S. 

Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 254, pp. 260-261, 1910; and F and L from U. S. Geol. Survey WaterSupply Paper 341, pp. 522-523, 1915.)

The iron content of waters from the alluvium of Arkansas differs 

greatly from place to place, and some of the supplies carry enough to 

render them distasteful and capable of staining fabrics washed in 

them. Mr. Stephenson mentions the appearance in the surface 

materials of iron in the form of small limonite concretions, whose 

irregular distribution probably explains the difference in iron content of the waters.

The waters of the alluvium are generally potable, but they are so 

hard that most of them have been rated as only fair for domestic use. 

Fortunately, the greater proportion of the hardness, being temporary, 

can be removed by boiling the waters and allowing the sediment thus 

produced to settle. The waters are, almost without exception, good 

for irrigation and can be used without fear of their causing accumulations of alkali in the soil. Few would be likely to foam in or corrode 

boilers, but all carry considerable soft scale forming matter and 

for boiler use could be greatly improved in preheaters or cold water 

softening plants. The classification of them as fair to poor for boiler 

use is rather more severe than the classification adopted by some railroads traversing Arkansas, but it corresponds to the ratings outlined 

on pages 284^287.
308 GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATERS, NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS. 

CRETACEOUS AND TERTIARY FORMATIONS.

The analyses of water from Tertiary and Cretaceous formations 

in eastern Arkansas are so few that little can be deduced regarding 

their general quality. Analyses 15, 22, and 48 in the table opposite 

page 302 represent calcium carbonate waters of moderate mineral 

content from the Wilcox formation, which comprises strata of sands, 

clays, quartzites, and lignites. No. 45 in the same table is a partial 

analysis of water from the Claiborne formation in Phillips County. 

A well 1,495.5 feet deep in Mississippi County is believed to draw its 

supply chiefly from Cretaceous sands (see analysis No. 39), and 

a shallower well in White County (analysis No. 64) enters Carboniferous strata. Three other wells in St. Francis, Lee, and Monroe counties (see analyses Nos. 58, 28, and 42) enter undifferentiated 

formations of the Eocene series. The latter of these yields a salt 

water of high mineral content.

QUALITY IN RELATION TO GEOGRAPHIC POSITION.

Waters containing moderately large amounts of sulphate or 

chloride have been occasionally encountered in eastern and northeastern Arkansas but with little apparent regularity, and they probably are derived from local gypsiferous or saline beds that may owe 

their origin to influxes of highly mineralized silts from the area now 

included in Oklahoma and southwestern Kansas. Though the 

waters from the alluvium of the lowlands range in mineral content 

approximately from 160 to 800 parts per million, the available 

analyses do not indicate any definite geographic distribution of 

waters of high or low mineral content. Most of the ground waters 

are potable, acceptable for irrigation, and capable of being purified 

for industrial use. Consequently the occasional occurrence of waters 

relatively high in mineral content is not especially serious.

Of the 68 waters whose analyses are 'given in the table (p. 302) 

only 10 exceed 50 parts per million in content of sulphate or 100 in 

content of chlorine. Six of these are from wells in the area between 

Arkansas and White rivers. The data of the field assays (p. 304) 

indicate that waters rather high in sulphate and chlorine come from 

some but not by any means all wells in the same area. The owners 

of a few wells in Arkansas and Prairie counties have reported saline 

waters (pp. 150, 251). All these facts together lead to the conclusion 

that local deposits of gypsiferous and saline material may be more 

numerous in the alluvium between Arkansas and White rivers than 

elsewhere in northeastern Arkansas. The water of Arkansas River 

contains a large proportion of sulphate and chlorine, and past meandering of this stream may explain the presence of the mineralized 

alluvial spots. Mr. Stephenson states (p. 271) that the ground waters
CHEMICAL CHARACTER OF THE WATERS. 309

have a distinct brackish taste in a considerable area in the eastern 

part of White County, particularly in the vicinity of West Point 

and Worden and east of Russell. Greater development of ground 

waters in the lowlands will doubtless result in the discovery of 

similar areas.

QUALITY IN RELATION TO DEPTH OF WELL.

The averages in the following table indicate that wells less than 

100 feet deep in the alluvium are likely to yield waters of somewhat 

lower mineral content than deeper ones, but this apparent difference 

may be a fortuitous coincidence of figures, though the number of 

analyses that have been averaged is fairly great. Aside from this difference the comparative quality of waters from various depths in the 

alluvium, as indicated by the results in the table opposite page 302, 

appears to depend entirely on the locality. This condition may be 

expected because the alluvium is irregularly bedded.

Mineral content of water from the alluvium of eastern and northeastern 

Arkansas in relation to depth of well.

Depth of

wells.

Feet.

60-100

101-149

150-200

Number

of

analyses

averaged.

12

22

16

Average

total

dissolved

solids.

Parts per

million.

366

375

378

Average

total

hardness

as CaCO3 .

Parts per

million.

254

296

295

ECONOMIC VALUE.

The probable value of the waters that have been analyzed is indicated in the last three columns of the table opposite page 304. So 

few analyses of supplies from Cretaceous and Tertiary strata are 

available that no general statements regarding their usefulness can 

be made.

The waters of the alluvium in general are calcium carbonate waters of moderate mineral content. They are rather hard, but as most 

of the hardness is carbonate or temporary, they can be softened by 

being boiled. Some carry enough iron to taste unpleasant, but most 

are potable. Practically all are suitable for irrigation. Few are 

likely to cause foaming or corrosion in boilers, but all carry considerable scale-forming matter and for boiler use could be greatly 

improved in preheaters of cold water softening plants. For these 

reasons they have been rated as fair or poor for boiler use in their 

natural state, but capable of being made satisfactory at relatively 

little expense.

INDEX.

A.

Acknowledgments for aid.................... 14-15

Advance lowland, prairie phase of, plate

showing.......................... 26

topography of............................ 25-28

Alicia, log of well at.......................... 204

Alluvium, Pleistocene, correlation of...... 120-121

Pleistocene, general features of,....... 114-116

Quaternary, analyses of waters from.. 305-307 

economic value of waters from....... 309

Recent,,deposition of..................... 132

Almyra, log of well near...................... 153

American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association, ratings of waters by............... 286-287

Analyses of ground waters................. 302-303

table showing............................ 302

Area covered by this report.................. 22

Argenta, logs of wells at.................... 258-259

water supply of.......................... 258

Arkansas County, geology of................. 150

physiography of........................ 149-150

water resources of...................... 150-153

wells in, data on....................... 154-159

Arkansas River, depth of scour of........... 121

sources of minerals in.................... 299

water of, analyses of................... 299, 300

quality of............................ 298

Artesian waters. See Waters, artesian. 

Ashley, G. H., on the deposits penetrated on

Hen and Chicken Island......... 177

Ashport Bend, 1 ogs of borings at.......... 226-227

Assays of ground waters..................... 304

Augusta, log of well at...................... 276

section of alluvium at................... 117

water supply of.......................... 276

Austin, section of Eocene beds at............ 84

B.

Bacteriological qualities of water for domestic

use............................... 290

Bailey, J. R., chemical analyses by.......... 302

Bald Knob, log of well at.................... 272

Barton, wells at........................... 138, 239

Bartsch, Paul, acknowledgment to.......... 15

fossils determined by.............. 106-107, 108

Bayou De Vue, course of..................... 26

Beebe, marl of the Midway formation at.... 49-50

Beech Grove, log of well near............... 189

Benton Ridge, Mo., situation of............ 23

Berry, E. W., acknowledgment to........... 15

fossils determined by............ 58, 59, 62, 63

on the assumed unconformity at the base

of the Claiborne.................. 66

on the correlation of a bed on Bolivar

Creek............................ 63

Page. 

Bibliography.................. ........... 15-22

Big Creek, course of.......................... 26

Big Lake Highlands, deposits composing.... 114

situation of.............................. 29

Big Prairie. See Sikeston Ridge. 

"Big Spring," section of the Lafayette formation near, and 2J miles north of 

Helena........................... 94-95

section of the Lafayette formation south

of, and 2J miles north of Helena. 95

sections of loess near.................... 94, 95

Black River, course of....................... 26

Black Rock, log of well near................. 204

Blytheville, log of well near................ 225-226

well at................................... 137

B oiler compounds, efficiency of............ 283-284

Boiler scale, formation of.................. 281-282

Boiler troubles, remedies for................. 283

Boilers, rating of waters for use in......... 284-287

Bolivar Creek, section of the Wilcox formation on.......................... 61-62

Bono, log of well near........................ 171

section of the Lafayette formation at..... 91

section of the Wilcox formation northeast of........................... 61

Bonsteel, J. A., on the Crowley silt loam..... 147

Booty,log of wellnear....................... 153

Boydsville, exposure of sandstone near...... 58

Bradford, occurrence of the Midway formation at........................... 50-51

Brinkley, logs of wells at and near......... 230-231

well at................................... 138

Buckshot lands,nature of............. ... 26

Burdette,log of wellat...................... 226

C.

Cabot, logs of wells at and near.............. 217

occurrence of the Midway formation at.. 49 

Cache River,course of....................... 26

Cairo, 111., fossil shell found at............... 43-44

Call, R. E., on a section of the Jackson formation at Red Bluff................ 81-82

on a section of the Jackson formation

northeast of Forrest City........ 76

on a section of the Wilcox formation on

Bolivar Creek................... 61-62

on exposures of the Claiborne formation

on Spencer Creek................ 68

on exposures of the Wilcox formation near

Gainesville...................... 59

on sections of the loess west of Jonesboro. 11C 

on silicified logs in clay north of Gainesville............................. 58-59

on the clays exposed in Chalk Bluff...... 57-58

section of the Midway formation recorded

by............................... 50

311
312 INDEX.

Campbell,Mo.,log of wellat................. 163

Carlisle, logs of wells near.................. 218-219

Cenozoic formations, generalized section of... 34 

Chalk Bluff, exposure of the Wilcox formation in........................... 57-58

Chamberlin, T. C., and Salisbury, R. D., on

the age of the loess............... 112

and Salisbury, R. D., on the composition of the loess.................. 102

on the distribution of the loess in 

North America................ 100-101

on the origin of the loess............. 128

on the relation of Pleistocene deposits to the Lafayette formation. 87 

Chemical composition of well waters, table

showing......................... 302

Chemical qualities of water for domestic use. 290-291 

Cherry Valley, log of well east of............. 183

section of the Claiborne formation near.. 68-69 

section of the Lafayette formation near.. 69 

Chickasaw Bluffs, Ky., Tenn., and Miss.,

topography of................... 24-25

Chinquapin Ridge, topography of........... 24

Choctaw Bar, fossils from borings at......... 83

Cimarron River, water of, analysis of........ 300

Claiborne formation, bibliography of......... 63-65

concretions of iron carbonate in, plate

showing......................... 68

correlation of............................ 72-73 '

deposition of............................. 125

general features of....................... 63-67

sands and clays of, plate showing........ 68

Clay County, geology of..................... lei

physiography of......................... 160

water resources of...................... 162-163

wells in, data on....................... 164-165

Cloverbend, section of alluvium at........... lie

Coastal Plain lowlands, subdivisions of...... 25-31

Coastal Plain uplands, subdivisions of....... 22-25

Cold-water softening, method of........... 295-296

Colona, section of alluvium south of......... 117

Concretions, leaf-bearing, of iron carbonate,

plate showing................... 68

Copperas Creek, section of the Claiborne formation on....................... 71-72

Corrosion of boilers, cause of................. 282

Cotton plant, water supply of.............. 276-277

Craighead County, geology of................ 167

physiography of........................ 166-167

water resources of...................... 168-171

wells in, data on....................... 172-173

Cretaceous, Lower, time, intrusions of....... 34-35

Lower, time, probable deposits of........ 123

Upper, time, deposition in.............. 124

deposition in, erosion following...... 124

formations of........................ 35-44

Cretaceous deposits, ground water in........ 136

ground water in, quality of.............. 308

Crittenden County, geology of............... 174

physiography of......................... 174

water resources of........................ 175

wellsin, data on......................... 178

Cross County, geology of..................... 180

physiography of......................... 179

Cross County, water resources ol........... 180-183

wellsin, data on....................... 184-185

Crowleys Ridge, topography of.............. 22-23

D.

Ball, William H., fossils determined by...... 108

Depth, quality of waters in relation to....... 309

Des Arc, logs of wells at..................... 252

Devall Bluff, log of well near................ 253

Domestic use, requirements of water for.... 289-291

E.

Earl, water supply of........................ 175

wellat................................... 137

Eocene deposition, erosion following......... 126

Eocene series, formations of.................. 44-85

formations of, ground water in......... 136-135

undifferentiated beds of................. 84-88

Eocene time, depression and deposition in. 124-126

F.

Fairoaks, logs of wells at and near........... 183

Feed water,heating of..................... 296-297

Field assays of ground waters, table showing. 304 

Filtration, rapid sand, process of........... 294-295

slow-sand, process of................... 293-294

Foaming of boilers, cause of................. 282-283

Forrest City, section of loess east of.......... 107

section of loess northeast of.............. 108

section of the Jackson formation northeast of........................... 76

water supply of......................... 265

wells at................................. 137

Fossils, occurrence of, in the Claiborne formation............................. 69

occurrence of, in the Jackson formation. 78,80,83 

in the loess................ 106-107,108,128

in the Midway formation. 48,49,50,51,52,53 

in the Wilcox formation........ 58,59,62,63

in Upper Cretaceous deposits........ 38,

40,41,42,43 

Fourche Creek, fossils from.................. 49

section of the Midway formation on...... 48

Fuller, M. L., on the conditions governing

artesian flows................. 140-141

supervision by.......................... 14

Fuller, W. H., acknowledgments to........ 15,144

G.

Gainesville, exposures of loess at............. Ill

sections of Lafayette formation near..... 90

Geographic position, quality of waters in relation to........................ 308-309

Geologic cross sections, plates showing....... 32,34

Geologic history, events of................. 123-132

Georgia, calcareous deposits in, content of

watersfrom................... 306-307

Gilkeson, logs of wells near.................. 171

Glenn, L. C., on the relation of Pleistocene 

deposits to the Lafayette formation............................. 87-88

Grandglafee, exposure of loam south of....... Ill

exposures of the Midway formation near. 52-53 

Grandglaise terrace, topography of.......... 23-24
INDEX. 313

Grand Prairie, deposits composing... .. - - 114 

situation of............. ___.__.. 29

Greene County, geology of...... . 187-188

physiography of....................... 186-187

water resources of..................... 188-189

wells in, data on....................... 190-191

Greensboro, log of well at.................... 170

Ground-water resources of eastern and northeastern Arkansas, map showing.. 134 

Ground waters, field assays of, table showing. 304 

Gulf Coastal Plain, area of, in Arkansas...... 13

deposits underlying..................... 14

geologic map of.......................... 30

topography of........................... 14

H.

Hardpan, nature of.......................... 115

Harris, G. D., fossils determined by......... 80,83

on Cretaceous deposits in eastern Arkansas .............................. 40,41

on exposures of the Jackson formation on

Arkansas River................. 79-81

on fossils from limestone ledges near Bradford............................. 51,53

on fossils from localities north of Bradford 53 

on fossils in the Midway formation...... 49

on the use of the term Midway.......... 46

Harrisburg, exposures of the Lafayette formation at.......................... 91-92

logs of wells at and near............... 244-245

Hazen, log of well near....................... 253

water supply of......................... 252

Helena, section ofloessin................... 106

sections of the Lafayette formation near.. 94-95 

water supply of......................... 236

logs of borings at and near............. 237-239

wells at................................. 138

Hen and Chicken Island, log of prospecting

well on.......................... 177

Higginson,log of wellat..................... 272

Hilgard, E. W., fossils determined by....... 78

on the correlation of beds penetrated at

Helena.......................... 78-79

Holland, log of well at....................... 216

Hunter, logs of wells near.................... 277

Hydrick, log of well near.................... 183

I.

Igneous rocks of Cretaceous age, occurrence of. 34-35

Independence County, geology of.......... 192-193

physiography of......................... 192

water resources of..................... 193-194

Indiana, calcareous deposits in, content of

waters from................... 306-307

Irrigation, rating of waters for............. 287-289

J.

Jackson County, geology of................ 195-196

physiography of....................... 194-195

water resources of....... ......... 196-197

Jackson formation, correlation of............ 82-84

deposition of.......................... 125-126

general features of....................... 73-75

literature of............................. 73-74

sands and clays of, plate showing........ 76

Jacksonville, log of well at................... 259

Jefferson County, geology of................. 198

physiography of....................... 197-198

water resources of..................... 198-199

wells in, data on....................... 200-201

Jones Ridge, loess in......................... Ill

topography of........................... 24

Jonesboro, logs of wells at and near.......... 169

section of the Lafayette formation southwest of.......................... 91

sections west of.......................... 110

Jurassic deposits, absence of................. 123

K.

Knapp, S. A., on soils suitable for rice culture. 148 

Knobel, logs of wells at and near.......... 162,163

L.

Lafayette formation, correlation of.......... 97-100

deposition of.......................... 126-127

erosion following........................ 127

general features of....................... 85-89

gravel of, plates showing................. 88

ground waters in........................ 138

plate showing........................... 76

unconformable contact of, with loess, plate

showing......................... 102

Lagrange, logs of wells near.................. 211

Lake City, well at........................... 170

Lakes, general features of.................... 133

L'Anguille River, course of.................. 26

Lawrence County, geology of.............. 202-203

physiography of......................... 202

water resources of..................... 203-205

wells in, data on....................... 206-207

Lee County, geology of...................... 209

physiography of......................... 208

water resources of..................... 209- 211

wells in, data on....................... 212-213

Limestone, debris from, calcareous material in. 306 

pebbly, with interbedded layers of the

Midway formation, plate showing. 52 

Little Crow Creek, section of the Jackson formation on....................... 76-78

sections of the Lafayette formation on 76-78,93 

Little River, course of....................... 28

Little Rock, exposures of bog iron ore in..... 41

water supply of....................... 257-258

Loess, correlation of....................... 112-113

deposition of.......................... 127-129

exposure of, on Crowleys Ridge, plate

showing....................... 102,108

on Little Crow Creek, plate showing. 76 

general features of..................... 100-105

"old soil" zone in, plate showing........ 108

unconformable contact of, with the Lafayette formation, plate showing. 102 

Lonoke, logs of wells at and near.......... 216,219

Lonoke County, geology of................ 214-215

physiography of......................... 214

water resources of..................... 215-219

wells in, data on....................... 220-223

Lovelady Place, Greene County, section of the

Wilcox formation on............. 60

Luxora, water supply of..................... 226

Lynn, log of well near....................... 205
314 INDEX.

M. Page.

Marbut, C. F., on the later geologic history of

the Mississippi embayment.-.. 129-131 

Marianna, log of well at..................... 210

water supply of....................... 138,210

Marked Tree, depth of wells at.............. 137

log of well at. ......................... 245

Mannaduke, logs of wells near............... 189

Marvell, exposures of alluvium at........... 118

Memphis, Tenn., log of municipal well at... 176-177 

Mesozoic formations, generalized section of.. 34 

Midway formation, deposition of............. 125

exposures of............................. 48-53

general features of....................... 45-48

Minerals, dissolved, accumulation of in the

soil.............................. 287

Mississippi County, geology of............... 224

physiography of......................... 224

water resources of...................... 225-227

wells in, data on......................... 228

Mississippi embayment, deposits in_...... 31-32

extent of................................ 13

structure of.............................. 31

Mississippi lowland, topography of.......... 28-29

Mississippi River, depth of scour of.......... 122

diversions of............................. 131

water of, analyses of................... 300-301

Missouri, occurrence of the Wilcox formation

in............................... 57

Monroe County, geology of................. 229-230

physiography of......................... 229

water resources of...................... 230-231

wells in, data on....................... 232-233

Moro, log of well near........................ 211

Mound, low circular, at Bald Knob, plate

showing......................... 26

Mounds, small, origin of..................... 30-31

N.

Nacatoch (?) sand, exposures of, in Independence County................ 37-40

exposures of, south of Independence

County.......................... 40-41

general features of....................... 36-37

Neosho River, water of, analysis of.......... 300

Nettleton, log of well at...................... 170

Newark, Cretaceous fossils from. -............ 41-42

exposures of loess near................... Ill

log of well at............................. 194

section of the Lafayette formation west of. 97 

Newport, log of well at...................... 197

water supply of.......................... 196

well of ice company at................... 196

Norton, E.G., acknowledgments to........ 15,144

O. 

 Obear, log of well near....................... 171

Ohio, calcareous deposits in, content of waters

from........................... 306-307

O'Kean, wells at............................ 262

Old Grandglaise, section of alluvium at site of. 116 

"Old soil" in loess, occurrence of.......102,109,112

plate showing........................... 108

Osceola, water supply of.................... 225

Ouachita Mountains, situation of............ 13

Ozark province, area of, in Arkansas........ 13

rocks underlying........................ 13-14

topography of........................... 13,22

P.

Paleozoic rocks, deposition of................ 123

deposition of, erosion following.......... 123

depth to................................. 33

exposures of............................. 32-33

Paragould, exposures of loess west of........ 110

section of Lafayette formation west of.... 90

water supply of....................... 188-189

Parkin, depth of wells at.................... 137

log of well at............................ 182

Phillips County, geology of.................. 235

physiography of....................... 234-235

water resources of..................... 236-239

wells in, data of....................... 240-241

Phillips post office, section of the Lafayette

formation west of the site of..... 94

Physical qualities of water for domestic use. 289-290 

Piggott, logs of wells at...................... 162

Pleistocene series, deposits of.............. 100-121

Pliocene series, formations of............... 85-100

Poinsett County, geology of................. 243

physiography of......................... 242

water resources of..................... 243-247

wells in, data of....................... 248-249

Ponds, general features of................... 133

Poplar Creek, section of Lafayette formation

on............................... 90

section of Wilcox formation on.......... 60

Powhattan, exposures of loess at............ Ill

Prairie County, geology of................. 250-251

physiography of......................... 250

water resources of..................... 251-253

wellsin, data of. .......................254-255

Pulaski County, geology of................ 256-257

physiography of......................... 256

water resources of..................... 257-259

wellsin, data of......................... 260

Purification of water, general requirements of. 292 

methods for....... .......... .......... 292-293

Quartz pebbles in the Lafayette formation,

origin of......................... 99

Quartzite, exposures of, inCraighead, Greene,

and Clay counties............... 61

Quaternary formations, distribution and

character of................... 100-123

ground waters in...................... 138-139

R,

Randolph County, geology of.............. 261-262

physiography of......................... 261

water resources of....................... 262

Rating of waters for boilers................ 284-287

for irrigation........................... 287-289

Recent series, general features of........... 121-122

Rice culture, duty of water for..... .... 148-149

history of.............................. 144-145

outlook for.............................. 146

results of.............................. 145-146
INDEX.

Page. 

Rice culture, soils suitable for............. 147-148

source of water for..................... 146-147

Eosebriar Prairie, deposits composing....... 114

situation of.............................. 29

S.

St. Francis County, geology of............. 263-264

physiography of....................... 262-263

water resources of..................... 264-267

, wells in, data of....................... 268-269

St. Francis River, course of.................. 28

Salisbury, R. D., on the age of the Lafayette

formation....................... 98-99

See also Chamberlin, T. C. 

Sand blows, nature of....................... 29

Scale. See Boiler scale.

Searcy, section of the Lafayette formation

south of......................... 95-96

Shaw, E. Wesjley, acknowledgment to....... 15

on the petrographic and mechanical characters of specimens of loess..... 103-104

Shepard, Edward M., record of well at Campbell, Mo., from.................. 163

Shimek, Bohumil, on fossils in the loess... j. 113 

Sikeston Ridge, deposits composing......... 114

extentof................................ 29

Softening of water, method of.............. 295-296

Soil, accumulation of mineral matter in...... 287

Soils, Bureau of, mechanical analyses of loess

by............................. 104-105

Southland, log of well at..................... 239

section of alluvium east of............... 118

Spencer Creek, section of the Claiborne formation on.......................... 68

Stabler, Herman, formulas of.............. 284-285

Springs, use of............................... 139

ratings of water for irrigation by......... 289

Strawberry, exposures of loess near.......... Ill

Streams, general features of................ 132-133

Stuttgart, wells at and near............... 151-152

"Sunk lands," nature of..................... 160

Swamps, formation of....................... 133

T.

Tabor, exposures of loess at.................. Ill

Tertiary formations, distribution and character of........................... 44-100

ground water in....................... 136-138

quality of........................... 308

Tichnor,log of wellnear..................... 153

Tilton, log of well northeast of.........J..... 183

Trenton, section of alluvium southwest of... 118 

Triassic deposits, absence of................. 123

Troughs west and east of Crowleys Ridge,

erosion of........................ 129

Turrell, depth of well at..................... 137

logof wellat............................ 175

U. 

Ulm,log of wellnear........................ 152

V. 

Vanndale, log of well at...' ................ 182

Vaughan, T. Wayland, direction by.......... 14

fossils determined by.. L............. 53-54,78

Verdigris R iver, water of, analysis of......... 300

W.j 

Wabbaseka, log of well near.................. 199

Waldenburg, logs of wells near............... 246

Walnut Ridge, logs of wells near.............. 205

Waters, artesian, conditions governing occurence of........L.............. 140-141

artesian, definition of.

ground, disposal of...

pressure condition

lowlaad. 141-142 

in the Mississippi lowland..... 142-143

quantity of. 

source of... 

uses of......

mineral constituents o

nonartesian, developra snt of........... 139-140

139 

134

importance of.

surface, quality of.

See also Ground water 3. 

Weiner, logs of wells at and near............ 246,247

Wells, Cretaceous strata penetrated in........ 42-43

which penetrate Pie 

references to.

Wheetley, logs of wells nea 

White County, geology of.

physiography of...

water resources of..

wells in, data of....

White River, course and t

Whitehall,log of wellnear 

Wilcox formation, correlation of.

deposition of......

general features of.

local details of.....

sands, clays, and lignites of, plate showing. 

Wilson, wellat.

140

135

of, in the Advance

.. 135 

134-135 

143-149

.. 281

stocene alluvium,

118-120 

which penetrate undifferentiated Quarternary alluvit im, reference to.. 122-123 

waters from, analyses of................. 302

West Prairie, deposits cor iposing........... 114

situation of.

.. 265

270-271 

.. 270

271-272 

273-274

26 

.. 247

63

.. 125 

.. 54-57 

.. 57-63

ibutariesof.

52

226

Wittsburg, section of th Lafayette formation north of 

section of the loess n 

Woodruff County, geology of................ 275

rthof.

70

70

physiography of... 

water resources of. 

wells in, data on.

Wynne, sections of the Claiborne formation,

east of.

sections of the Lafaj

of. ........... 70-71,92-93

sections of the loess ea st of........ 70,71,108-109

wells at.

Zent, logs of wells near.

O

.. 275 

.. 276 

278-279

70-71.

ette formation east

137,181-182

266-267