The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1890-05-17
NOTES ON THE COAL BEDS OF La
PAY6TTE COUNTY,
By Arthur WINSTON, state c.o,.
Ogist.
PREVIOUS GE, LoGLa, WORK IN LAFAY.
81 ETTE COUN. !.

| ino scoioSy oi Lafayette county has
not been connectcdly studied nor de.
scrI6ed even to the extent that other
counties OF the state have received
treatment by the earlier geological
surveys. About all that has been Dub-
Ilshed Is contained in the report of the
geology OF northwestern Missouri by
u. Z. Broadhead, in part III. of the
report On IRON ores and coal fields of
1877; some fourteen pages, in the first
part OF this report, refer 10 the geology
Oh lafayette county, land matter relating
10 IL Is also found in dozen or more
other pages scattered through the
report. The information thus given il
further, neither connected nor complete
ont consists largely of descriptions OF
outcrops, sections and records louud at
various localities and derived from
various sources.
SCOPE OF PRESENT WORK,
Ihe systematic work which is now
III progress in the county aims TO siyc
an exhaustive description of its geology
III report illustrated by detailed mans
and sections. The progress of such
work is, however, necessarily slow and.
pending its completion and pursuant
TO the general plan of work described
IN the preceding administrative report.
inns Drlei article is prepared, relating TO
wnat Is al present the most importaut
mineral product OF the county. IL is
10 be distinctly understood, however,
tnat the conclusions here expressed are
not final, and are subject to the moditi.
cations which the results of detailed
work may hereafter call for. The dc.
scriptions and the deductions are
almost entirely such as result from a
reconnaissance and are presented
inereIy 10 answer Immediate calls Tor
Information while the detailed work is
In progress.
THE ROCKS OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
with the exception of few pa,cbes In
the western portion, have been referred,
Oy The geologIsis of the earlier SURVEYS.
10 the middle coal measures. They
consist OF alternalions of limestones,
shales, sandstones, clays and coal beds,
the whole aggregating several hundred
feet in thickness.
THE COAL BEDS OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY
In this column of rocks several coal
oSNo OSSui. vi tuGbc, Wndt IL
AS the Lexington coal bed is at present
OF greatest industrial Importance. In
the southeastern portion of the county,
however, In the vicinity of Concurdla
and AullvilIe, another underlying bed,
known as the Mulky coal, is worked
and IS there OF chief importance. Out
groupings OF other beds occur al
numerous localities where the coal is
TOO thin to be prolitably worked; al
some places, notably above Waverly,
such coal is reported TO have been dug
into of considerable thickness, but the
Developments are not sufficient for one
to predict the extent of the bed. Again,
at other localities, deep drill holes have
been put down in which thick coal beds
are reported TO have been struck; but
the results from such deep drillings at
different places are conflicting, and il
will take closer study than this arti-
Gle purports TO be the result of, q more
careful sitting OF facts, before the re-
ported results of such drillings can be
reliably judged OF.
THE LEXINGTON COAL BED
is situated geolOgically in the neipbbor.
hood of 230 feet below the top of the
middle coal measures. Geographically,
it is included within the shaded area of
the page plate map accompanying this
article, and west of Aullville the out
lines OF this shaded area represent ap-
proximately the outcrop line of this
bed, as Professionally defined. East OF
Aullville il rises higher above water
level and is found only near the hill
tops in comparatively limited patches.
HypsOmetrically, it is in such position
that its outcrop is almost always above
the adjacent water level. IL lies in a
gently undulating sheet, with a slight
northwesterly dip, which CT ps out
along a sinuous line on each side of the
main drainage channels.
THICKNESS OF THE LEXINGTON COAL
BED.
The thickness OF this bed is not very
variable, anu fair average Of its sec.
tions is shown in the plat on the accom-.
panying plate. In the vicinity of Lex
ingtOn it exceeds tie average by TWO
or three inches and in lew localities
reaches thickness OF two feet. West
of Lexington, along tho river about
Wellington and Napoleon, the coal is
ubout Ci6hCCu Ill Ine
vicinity OF iligginsville and Corder il Is
from seventeen TO twenty inches thick,
aud in the vicinity of Odessa it Is from
fifteen to sixteen inches thick.
THE MULKY COAL BED
is situated, as far as we can Judge from
present knowledge, at u very variable
distance below the Lexington bed.
In the vicinity OF Mulky creek, two ana
a half miles southeast of Anllyille, the
interval between the two beds is In the
neighborhOod of fifty feet. About
mile southeast of this point, it is appar-
emily nearer seventy feet; while, in the
of two drill holes show the existence of
depth of about one hundred and fifty
feet, which coal is the only one in this
section which could be considered the
equivalent OF the Mulky bed.
The existence aud the distribution OF
the Mulky coal ia best determined in
the vicinity of Anllville aud the out
line OF The shaded area east and north
east of that place approximately defines
its limits, as far as has be9n determined
by reconnaissance. West of this, drill
hole records or other results OF deep
exploration are too scarce, and the |
country haG not, as yet, been suffi |
oiently studied tor one to attempt to |
define the distribution of this coal, or !
even to assert its existence or absence
over this area.
THE THICKNESS OF THE MULKY COAL |
BED,
where opened upon, is seen to be very
nearly the same as that of the Lexing- |
ton bed. AT three different openings,
a few miles west OF CunGOrdia, the |
measured were respective
ly: nipetGea inches, twenty-five inches
anu twenty inches; at the Elling shaft,
nearly four miles west of COncOrdia,
the thickness is reported to be between /
twenty two and twenty -four inches.
TtiE GOAL AREA.
n study of the accompanying map
will show that the continuity of Tue |
coal area il very much broken. (See
note NJ foot OF iaap) This ls due TO
two CAuses One is "A cause al Dresent