The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-02-28
SOME OIL FOUND.
Along the Southwest Flank OF the Black
Hills.

In response to many requests for in
formation showing whether the geologic
structure of the region along the south
west flank of the Black hills uplift is
favorable to the occurrence of oil and
gas, brief examination of that region
was made in 1917 by f. 7. Hancock of
the United States geological survey, de-
partment of the interior
The examination covered an area ex-
tending Is 10 30 miles westward from
the main line of the Chicago. Burlington
& Quincy railroad, between Upton. Wyo.,
and Ardmore, s, d. Most of this area
is described by ~ II. barton in the
twenty first annual report OF the United
States geological survey. II is on the
southwest flank of the Black hills uplift,
an elongated dome, curving to the south
and TO the northwest and representing
a vertical displacement of about 1900
feet. The doming upturned nearly COM
plete sequence of Paleozoic and Mesozoic
rocks ranging in age from Cambrian to
Laramie. Throughout most of the dome
the beds dip at moderately low angles,
but from the vicinity of Newcastle
southwark they are steeply compressed,
and from Spencer southwark for some
distance they are nearly vertical. The
steepIy dipping beds are more or less
continuous with the steeply dipping west
limb of a sharp antieline that extends |
along Old Woman creek. The gently |
dipping east limb of this anticline is sep |
arated from the Black hills uplift by a
shallow syncline west of Edgemont. This |
anteline brings to the surface an exten-
siye series of upper and lower Cretaceous
beds-thc Morrison shales and the Sund-
ance formation.
AT its north end this anticline is
closed, but at its south end the structure
is obscured by overlapping Tertiary |
White river beds. The southern pro-
longation of the main northward trend
inc axis of the Black hills uplift il also
the axis of subordinate anticline which
pitches southwark at Ardmore. The
limbs of this anticline grow wider and
flatter toward the north and gradually
merge into the central part of the Black
hills dome The anticline along Old
Woman creek extends northward across
Cheyenne river and seems to die out
in the vicinity of Alkali creek.
~
from point on Cheyenne river near the
southeast corner of r. 40 n, X. 81 W.,
cut the exact relation of this anticline
10 the larger one along Old Woman creek
was not determined From this locality
as far as Upton no we'll
Iefned structural features favorable to
he occurrence of oil Td gas were
deserved III
About half mile east of the junction
Il Beaver and Stockade Beaver creeks
he Greenhorn limestone dips west at
IN angle OF 80 degrees. About lhs miles
arther north this limestone is over
urned toward the east, but the fold thus
ormed is apparently slight, for the beds
DON rise again toward the east and
merge into the southwest flank OF the
lack Hill uplift.
Throughout most of the area exam
ned the Pierre. Fox Hills, and Laramie
eds appear to dip at very low angles
D the west and southwest. The sinuos-
v of the zones of outcrop indicates that
he gently monoclinal dip was modified
, some extent by cross fields. Detailed
eologic mapping may reveal broad
osed folds of terraces, but the surface
pcs not Indicate the existence OF any
ructural feature favorable to the oe-
irrenee of oil and gas, not even in the
cinity of Howard, where, according to
Imor. such feature exists. In that Vi
nitv erosion has carved out of the
aramie formation series of low ridges
nd buttes. capped by irregular bedded
Indstone and separated by grass-cov-
ed areas. The structure about Howard
no; so ob,io a. it is further cast, .
IA its details can be determined only
: the careful study of large area. n
The anticline along Old Woman creek
now being drilled at several places. at
ast two outfits are operating on the
lifeline at Ardmore, and some drilling