Wichita eagle., 1890-01-05

one of these is a mortar like grit, or a
coarie conglomerate, and everywhere 1t
| yields good water in western Kansas and
supplies the springs of Spring creek, in
Meade county, and is the source of
water in the deep wells on the high
| prairies all over the southwestern part OF
| the state. The upper tertiary formation
is the one that gives smoothness to the
surface and its best hold TO the buffalo
grass. Keeping these facts in
mind the geology of the artesian well In
western Kansas will be readily under
stood and numerous depressions in the
surface accounted for.
An arteeian we'll is one in which an
artificial vertical shaft is filed to over
flowing by water which enters 1t
at some distance below the sur
face of the ground. The water may
spout up with force and rise higher
| than the surface or it may barely reach
the point at which it flows over. The
conditions under which this can occur
are the same as those which govern the
| supply of water to the upper rooms OF
| buildings in cities. the reservoir with
which the water mains are connected
| must be higher than the place supplied;
| for the same reason the stand pipe
| which takes place of reservoir IN
towns located in q level country must be
higher than the tops of the highest
buildings. This is made necessary by
| well known principle in hydrostatics-
that fluid will not rise in an open tube
higher than its source. There are some
artesian wells whose flow is due to other
than hydrOStatic pressure here described
viz: to gas pressure and rock pressure,
but these forces need no Illustration.
In nature the channel through which the
water flows is more like sponge than
the oritice of pipe. 1t is porous rock,
sandstone, conglomerate, gravel, sand or
limestone more or less cracked or
broken. The walls of the natural pipe
must be impermeable and usually beds
of clay or clay or clay shale serve this
purpose. To get the head of water the
beds of sandstone. shale, etc., must have
a dip, /. e., it must be higher at one part
than another. The best conditions are
when the rock strata take basin forma
ton, highest on the edge of circular
area, and well sunk in the middle of
the basin. 1t is to be understoon that
all the waters of the land are meteoric
waters having their origin in the rains
and SHOWS. If then, the rain falls on
porous rock on the upturned edge of q
basin, which within the basin is overlain
and underlain with impervious clays. a
well sunk at or near the middle would
be artisan.
The basin form is, however. compare
lively rare in nature, but continuous
dip of rocks in one direction is by no
means uncommon: so that the form of
basin or trough is more often found. If
the relative position of porous and I'M
pervious rocks is the same artesian wells
may be found on the slope. or at the
lowest point. In southwestern Kansas
the general dip of the geological strata
is from west to east as is also the slope
of the surface of the country, thus
widely distributing the conditions for
finding arteSlan wells.
l will now proceed to give brief de-
scription of the artesian wells already
existing in southwestern Kansas. Mr..
B. +. Cox, who resides on the northeast
quarter of section 3, township 81, south
of range 81 west. in Meade county, was
the first to find arteeian water south of
the Arkansas river in Kansas. This dis
covery was made about two years ago,
and since that time nearly 100 wells
Meade county from ten to sixty gallons
the vicinity of Artesian City has one,
and some farms have several. These
wells evidently derive their water sup
ply from the decotah formation which,
as has been before stated, is the stratum
from which the deep wells of the high
prairies is supplied. The water of the
&c oia h.
the farmers for supplying the troughs in
the feed lots and pastures, also for drink
ing and culinary purposes. Several
farmers are preparing TO use the water
for irrigation next season.
At Richfield, the county seat of Nor
ton county, are two artesian wells to
which the water is supplied from lower
stratum evidently the miocene grit, the
lowest of the triassic series. These wells
are go and 10 feet respectively. The
drill passing entirely through the red
beds which at that point are over 400 |
feet in thickness. The flow Of the first |
well is over twenty-five gallons per min
ute and of the second about ten gallons, !
which may be increased to twenty-five /
gallons or more by driving the casing /
down to the triassic strata. These wells /
of the center of the town. The surface /
of the ground being as high as any of /
the surrounding territory and about /
seventy-tive feet higher than the site of |
the Morton county court house situated !
near the center of the town. The pres
sure is sufficient to carry the water in a
two inch pine to the top of the derrick
used in drilling, which is seventy feet
nigh.
We have. then, two sources of artesian
water in Southwestern Kansas. There
S another group of artesian wells at
Coolidge in Hamilton county which
Yield from thirty TO one hundred gallons
Der minute each and one at Larned Kan
as having flow of salt water Of $50
gallons per minute.
Other wells are projected and one is
low being put down at johnson City
which ON the Goth of December had
cached depth of 260 feet at which the
water rose in the tube fifty-four feet
From these facts we may conclude
hat a strong flow of artesian water may
'e readily obtained any where in south
Western Kansas when the drilling is
he triassic strata.
1t shall be my special aim, however, 10 !
upply the third element in the group
mentioned at the commencement Of this ,
HAPPIER, towit: a careful investigation
( the topography Of this section Of the {
tate. ,
y cursory survey Of the surface Of I
Kansas from almost every :
ONT of observation presents to the view I
vast expanse Of level prairie unbroken {
Y any apparent elevation or depression
nd reaching to the horizon in every di- /
ection. But every person who has trav I