The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1900-07-23
BEACH OF AN ANUIENT SEA.
Geological Survey Finds Petrifed Shells
in Western Oklt homa.

Geological Survey Finds PetriHed Shells
in Western Okls hOma.
The Oklahoma geological survey
travelled nearly all last week in West
ern Oklahoma, examining row of
outcrops containing petrlfed seashells.
The shells were found in thin lodges
of limestone and were mostly oysters
or 9th her mollusks, with a few of the
sudil like species (gastropopods and
cephalopods) Among the latter the
amonite shells, sometimes two feet N
diameter, were most conspicuous. The
exposures were for the most part on
the tops of the high divides, resting
imm ediately upon the red beds. They
form the line Of an ancient sea beach
which extended from Central Kansas
to Western Texas. 1t seems proba BILE
that this line was once continuous
across Oklahoma, but the erosion of
such streams as Salt Fork, Cimarron,
the Canadians, Washita and Red rivers
has entirely removed the greater part
of the rock, and only isolated patches
remain. These patches are found on
the tops of the buttes aud ridges
between the streams. The surveying
party found exposures all along
line extending from a point
northeast of the salt plains of
the Cimarron past Camp Supply AND
Woodward, nearly to Talogo. The
geological horizon is the Comanche
cretaceous. and ledges have been rec
ognized which correspond 20 the
Champion shell bed, and the Kiowa
shales of Belvidere, Kas., where the
series is much better developed
The massive ledge of gypsum which
out-crops west of Medicine Lodge,
Kss., has been traced by the surveys
ing party for more than 100 miles
along the Salt Fork and Cimarron
rivers. In places the ledge is seventy
FIVE feet thick. and again not more
than twenty FIVE feet thick. The ae-
tion of the water on the easily eroded
shales below the gypsum has produced
a number of caves, some of them a
mile or more in length. In places the
whole country is tunneled and honey
comb bed with cAverns and sink holes.
Many of these larger caves are known
locally as bat caves" fro n the fact
that immense NUM- bers of bats roost in
them daring the day. At dusk they
issue from the mouth of the cave in q
stream. In the course of half an hour
hundreds of thousands of bats will
come out, literally beating path in
the air" down the caRyon as far as the
eye can follow, till they are swallowed
mp in the growing darkness.
The surveying party visited cave
near the line between Woods and |
Woodward counties on Main creek,
about ten miles southeast of Curtis. a
station on the Panhandle branch of
the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
railroad, This cave is not more than |
a quarter of n mile long and is shaped |
like a gigantic tunnel, twenty-five
feet or more high and perhaps fifty
feet across. A number of caves in this
region are much larger than this one.
Interesting photographs of the caves
and gypsum ledges were taken and
will be printed in the annual report of
the territorial geologist, DR., VanVleet.
A limited amount of guano is taken
from these caves and sold in other
states for fertilizing purposes.
Paul j. White, the botanist, contin-
ues to find new and rare plants New
species of eriocarpum, kuhnisteaia, BIZ
dens, oenothera and cactus were add
ed to the list last week. Mr.. White is
paying especial attention to the ives
tern limit Of the jack oaks along the
various streams. These trees invar-
ably occur in the sand hills and in
western Oklahoma along the north
ern slopes of streams.