The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-31
SINK HOLES IN KANSAS.
Mysterious Dcpressl0ns In the Western
Part Of the state.

An interesting phenomenon In western
Kansas is described and pictured in recent
report OF the United States Geological
Survey. One Of the natural curiosities
Of the great plains region il known as the
Meade salt we'll, In southwestern Kansas.
1t made its appearance very suddenly in
1899
On March in that year the famous Jones
and Plummer cattle trail extended right
over the spot where this depression was
soon to appear A wagon passed along
the trail over the level ground. 1t ia not
known that this spot was seen again until
twenty-three days later. when it was found
that the ground for considerable area
had sunk into the earth and the hole was
partly filed with water from an UNDER
ground source
OF wagons and cattle on the trail were
still plainly seen on either side Of the
hole. A considerable area around the hole
had been depres sed to a smaller extent.
The sink hole remains to-day, and on
either side of it are still to be seen the road
ruts and cattle trails along which for years
scores Of thousands Of ranch cattle were
driven from northern Texas into Kansas.
There were very few routes OF travel across
this wide plain But the accident to the
surface occurred on the most important OF
them.
Those who st,ldi I'd this depression were
surprised to find that the water in 1t was
very SALT although the ground water in
the 'neighboling wells contained not
trace Of salt. Il was also found that this
saline water had at times high tempera-
ture, closely approaching the boiling point.
The biologists as yet have not been able
to explain either the sadness or the high
temperature of the water, 1t was also found
that there were two distinct layers Of water,
the upper layer, three feet thick, being
much less salt than the lower layer, which
was six feet in depth.
To-day the depression measures 260 feet
across the top and l26 feet across the sur
face of the pond which is nine feet deep;
to the level of the plain is ~ feet. A good
sized house might be hid away in the de-
preston.
The biologists say that the Meade salt
well is only the most striking of the Kansas
sink holes for there are many other depres-
sions of similar nature in the State, Large
sections of the high plains which stretch
across the western part Of Kansas are
fairly pitted with large or small saucer
like dc pressions, sometimes 80 near together
that stone may be thrown from one to
another.
Many Of these sinks are shallow, but
others are deep. like the salt we'll here
described. The depressions are 30 nu-
merous that farmers are talking of utilizing
them for the storage Of the spring rains,
and thus conserving the water that falls
into them for irrigation purposes. 1t may
be worth while to make them seryiceable
in this way, for irrigation is all that the
great region needs to make it wonder
fully fertile.
We have long known OF the countless
sink holes in the great cave regions of this
country which are formed by water per-
colating through the limestone rocks, dis
solving their mineral particles and thus
carrying the rock away In solution. No
such explanation, however. can be given
of the sink holes of western Kansas. They
are still constantly forming and are gradu.
ally lowering the surface over large areas,
but how they are formed is not yet fully
determined
The study that has recently been made
of them by the Geological Survey seems
to show that the settling is due In the
smaller cases to the gradual oompacting
Of the soil particles by the peroolation Of
water which collects from rain in particu-
lar spots and by the chemical solution and
washing away of the more soluble parti-
cles which compose the ground
In the larger sinks which appear sud-
denly. like the Meade salt well, there seems,
however, to have been a caving in OF the
underlying rock bed, which Is thin in places
and has probably been decompoeed and
carried away by the underground waters