Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1859-04-22
Geology of iowa.

ian 5 Zoology oil iowa. by an act OIL the
Legislature, each newspaper editor in the
State is entitled to one copy Of this work,
by Hon. L. Sells, Secretary of State, who has
been for some time engaged in distributing
them We have had time only to give the
work curSory examination, but are convinced
that it is ii credit to our young State, as we'll
AS to the scientific attainments Of Profs. Hall
ana Whitney, by whom it WAS compiled.
Their observations and Investigations were
made during tn, years 1855, IS and 81, and
the results are given in concise and compre-
hensiye languag., with merous appropriate
illustrations.
We extract the following concerning the
geology of Muscatinc county.
This county is bounded on the southeast
by the Mississippi river, which, at the city of
MuScatinc, makes sudden bend to the south );
its course from Davenport to this place being
nearly west The Cedar river flows through
the county, a little west of its centre, in a
direction nearly parallel with that Of the
Mississippi, ana the Wapsinonoc is its prin.
cipal tributary. The route of the Mississippi
and Missouri railroad runs along the northern
edge of the county, and branch from Mus
catinc iutcrsects it from north to south; so
that few districts in the State have greater
facilities Of internal communication.
The surface of the county is very uniform
in its character; the streams have not cut
through the prairie deposits, and, except on
the Mississippi river, we have not observed
any rock in place. The soil is highly fertile,
and the subsoil u deep yellowish claycy loan,
in the finest possible state OF subdivision
The timber in this county is mostly confined
to the immediate vicinity of the Mississippi
and Cedar rivers and their branches. The
most abundant trees are white and black oak
hickory, blackwalnut, linden and elm. The
region bordering on the Cedar is rather low,
and the soil somewhat sandy; on the Wap-
sinonoc it is more fertile, and tn timber is OF
vigorous growth.
There are no boullcrs on the surface, and
but few indications of transported DRIFT, the
superficial detrituS appearing to have come
almost entirely from the decomposition of the
underlying rocks.
This county is chiefly underlaid by lime
stone of the Hamilton group, which crops out
in the adjacent counties, north and west, but
is not seen within the limits Of this, on
account of the heavy superficial deposits.
There is narrow belt of the carboliIerous
series along the banks of the Mississippi,
which appears to be an CUTLER of the Rock
Island coal-tield.
This is finely exhibited in section made
for railroad purposes, just below the steam
boat landing at Muscatine, which is repre-
scRted in the annexed cut
Here follows geological map of the bluff,
cxhibiting--1, a stratum of loamy clay, 80
feet; 2, sandstone, so feet; with irregular
seams of carbonaceous matter, and with
sandstone concretions; and 3, coal seams,
argillaceous and shady sandstones, 20 feet
The superficial deposit of loamy clay is
exposed to the thickness of about fifty feet.
1t is extremely destitute of foreign boulders,
and appears to be made up almost exclusively
Of detritus formed from the decomposition of
the rocks which are in the immediate vicinity,
which may be seen in numerous localities,
gradually crumbling under the influence OF
various causes Beneath this deposit thick
ness of about fifty feet of a somewhat argyll
laceous sandstone may be observed. This
sandstone is pretty regularly stratltied in its
upper portion; but lower down it is much
disturbed, as if it had been deposited under
the influence of varying currents. 1t contains
a great number of spherical concretions, which
vary in size from a few inches to eight feet in
diameter Some of them are remarkably
symmetrical, as shown by the annexed cut,
Here is rather an exaggerated drawing of
a large boulder which many Of our readers
have seen at the stone quarry in the bluff,
nearly opposite Hershey's sawmill.
which represents one of the most regularly
formed ones which we have observed. These
concretions are distinctly stratifed, and the
lines of qualification pass from the adjacent
rock through them without interruption.
The material of which they are composed is
much harder than that of the adjacent sand
stone, contains more calcareous matter and
more sulphuret of iron; indeed, in the smaller
ones, nodule of this substance may not
unfrequently be found in the centre. The
fossil stems which occur in the sandstone are
seen to extend directly into, and sometimes
through the concretions (which, as well as
the other facts mentioned above, shows con-
clusively that they have been formed by
segregating agencies, such as are often
observed to have been operating in the rocky
strata, but which have here caused the aggre-
CATION of larger and more symmetrically-
formed masses than we have elsewhere
observed.
The sandstone is filled with impressions of
stems and leaves of fossil plants of the coal
measures, some of which are of considerable
size. One was observed Ca Lepidodendron
species y which was traced for twenty feet in
length. 1t was eighteen inches in diameter
in one direction, and nine in the other; being,
like most of the stems found here, consider
ably hattened by the pressure of the superin-
cumbent material.
Beneath this sandstone is bed of coal
which is not regularly continuous, but is
broken up into small, independent basins at
its eastern extremity, as shown in the figure.
Farther west it becomes more regular, attain
inga thickness of twoand- a-half to three feet;
with the highly bituminous shale which is
taken down with it, it reaches a thickness of
four feet. It's quality is very poor, as it
contains an unusually large proportion Of iron
pyritcs mixed with it. .a
The coal is underlaid by blush argilaccous
and shaly beds, of which about twenty feet
are exposed in the cut; and, so far as known,
this formation extends down to the level of
the river.
Between Pine creek and Fairport there are
several workings at considerable elevation
above the river level. Three miles below
Fairport, the coal shales and sandstoncs are
at the river level, rising in bluff of thirty to
forty feet; and from this, rcceding twenty to
forty yards, is second escarpment of equal
elevation, making the whole thickness at this
place eighty feet or more.
NATIONAL ERA AND Gov. CHASE DIR.
Bailey, Of the National Era, states that his
journal is not committed to the support of Mr..
Seward for the Presidency. He is friend
of Gov. Chase, whom he knows to be "pure
in privatelife; of incorruptible integrity, fair,
firm, consistent and able, in public life
remarkable for his administrative abilities. a