The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1893-09-14
DEPARTMENT DOINGs.
Record Of Yesterdays Transactions at thu
Capitol,
SECRETARY OF 81 ATE.


GEOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT.
The following preliminary repor
on the artesian water of Southern
Texas will be found of interest.
Artesian waster of Southern Texai
Preliminary report.
The country lying between the san
Antonio riv and the Laredo division
of the International and Great Nortn-
ern railway is readily separated lnuo
two physic divisions: First, vn9
Nueces basin. Second, the cehtIai
slope. The first of these contalns tne
outcropping edges or suriace eApo,
sures of the sands and ciays anu
bro Wn Goals of the lower anu nnluuIo
tertiary, while the surface OF the Slope
is occupied by deposits Oh d la'ei
date. Nooa
MANY of the sand beds OF the Nueces
basis are water. bearing, but there are
only two principal belts which, give
promise of furnishing a supply OF
fl owing wells good enough for general
use. The mineral matter conGaineu
In some of the others would likely
render them unfit for domestic purpo-
ses even were the conditions favorable
for securing flowing wells from them;
The water from these two belts Will
also contain some mineral water as
rule. but much of it will be good
water. :,
The tirst of these belts OF sand Is
that which crosses our sectlon llle %.
tween Benton and ROssville ana
crosses the international ana Great
Northern railroad between DeVlne
and Pearsall. 1t consists OF inter-
beded sands and sandy clays and
has a breadth some eight miles and a
probable thickness of 800 to 400 feet
The general elevation of its ex.
posed surface above sea level Is from
600 to 700 feet. 1t dips below the sur
face toward lhe coast 1T the rate OF 30
to so feet per mile, ard Will turnlsh
flowing water in the low lands OF
belt of country s0me5O miles or more
in width, which may be roughly linn
tied on the north by 5 line drawn from
FIoresville to Derby and extending
south TO the southern border OF the
Nueces valley-the "Bordas."
The possibility of securing moving
water from these beds outside tnese
limits depends las in fact 1t does with
in them) on the eleration OF the point
at which the we'll iasunk. The depths,
which will vary with the distance
from the northern INIT, will be from
300 to 1000 feet or nore.,
The other belt 81 sands in the con.
tinuation of those formerly described
by us as Fayette sands, comprising
belt 8 or 10 miles wide from Camp
belIton southward and occupy the
greater PORTION Of the area between
the Nueces ant Frio rivers south OF
Tilden.
East of the Nueces river and below
the mouth of the Frio these sands will
furnish flowing wells in lowlands OF
Live Oak and Bee counties. The
depth of these wells will increase to
the southeast At Beeville flow may
be obtained It from 1900 to 1900 feet,
but the chancter If the flow will de-
pend upon tie sand in which the water
is found.
West O. the Nueces, 80 far
as our work the present year
shows, thee fg q probability OF ob-
tanning fiywing wells from the ray
cite sandiin the area embraced IN
the immediate valley Of the Nueces
river in McMullen, LaSalle and pos
siblv the nor .heastern portion OF En-
cinal commits, but there is little
chance far hem outside this. The
depth viii be- moderate, probably not
exceeding 1000 feet. -. u.,
ire c5aslal slope has for its north.
ern oortier the scarp OF the "Bordas,",
a continuation of the adobe.capped
rid ca seen at Goiiad, Beeville, etc.,
which, beginning at the Nueces river
near Dinoro, at an extreme eleva'tun
of 900 fee,, rises gradually toward the
wet Untii at Los Angeles, on the
Mexican National railway, it reaches
SELECT The slope toward the gun
Lessons gradually as the coast is APP
nroched. The sands which occur IN
fhebakal part of these beds and which
ard exposed in the valley north OF
I'M sharp will give flowing water In
NIecks county and possibly in the
nrtHern portions of Hidalgo ana
0mkron st points whose elevation
bed not exceed rs to 100 feet above
ba level 1t is this same series OF
jedfs which afford the abundant sup
,lH of water in the coast country east
# San Antonio river, and it 1sprob-
bile that the belt extends along the
Htire gulf margin from Sabine to the
Rio Grande. 1 believe that flowing
fells are reasonably certain at any
boint on the coast whose elevation
does not exceed 100 feet.
The upper beds also contain water
bearing sand, and in certain cases
these may yield flowing water ct
even greater elevations. They fur
nish abundance of water from San
Diego north, but it has to be pumped.
One Of the most striking features OF
the area is the extreme variability OF
the rock materials and this in itself
renders definite statements regarding
i.-idIInl nnlitins q i M nat an inn nos