, 1921-09-08
FERRIS OIL FIELD
Oil and Gas ~Storehouse
Barely Touched says
Russell F. Collins,
GeoIogist

At a time while oil and gas Is low
In price 1t might not be wholly nm
profitable II W return our attention
to a general review Of the geology
OF the Rawlins field.
With no intention to offened |
suggest that the province OF the
geologist Ia one of prime Importance.
His pains-taking Investigation, his
accuracy OF vision, and his absolute
honesty Of opinion are factors. II he
is careless, or can see bu1 dazedly
or Ia willing to frame an opinion,
such a person cannot truly belong to
that body of great men who nave de-
voted their lives to the science OF
geology.
l made my first trip to this field
March last. and was greatly Impress
ed with its possibilities. More than
three months further investigation
during the present summer has per-
suaded me to enlarge my former
estimates. The potential resources
of gas and oil to the north Of Raw
Inns. it is my judgment, has barely
been scratched. So large a scope
must be covered to get a beginning
and ending In a geologic sense. that
1t requires a considerable stretch Of
the imagination. But it will be
worth the effort II a clearer under
standing shah have been arrived at.
The Mahoney-Ferris Anticline
shall be used as the basis OF the dis
cussion. But before we turn to it let
us look at the major crystal activity
to the north and west. From the
vicinity OF Lander one can see the
lofty peaks of the Wind River range.
This is a part Of the Rocky Mountain
system that has up-turned the over
lying beds to a high angle. Erosion
has pared away the upper members,
but upturned and eroded ends of the
older and underlying beds are race
able for many miles. Deep gorges
have also been cut through leaving
great blocks between. To the east
and largely parallefing this great up
lift Is a great anticline arch The
crest OF this fold rises and falls.
leaving a veritable chain OF anticline
Enclosures. most of these structures
having been deeply eroded. In al
most all Of them, the Permian Red
Beds have been exposed or partially
cut away; in fact in some places
completely cut through.
Some twenty to thirty miles to the
sOutH u LhHuS t0eFe ID a breaking
up or limbing out Of the mountain
making Wind Rivers. A spur or
limb here turns to the east lifting the
everything beds as they had been done
on the east flank Of the parent range,
with the same laws producing fold
Ing In each case. This eazt-west up
lift has been responsible for the
great anticlfne Of the Lost-Soldier-
Mahoney and Ferris field. This
crystal lift bears east, southeast and
the great fold to the south will in
the main parallel the line Of uplift.
The fold, however, has every evil
dence Of having been subjected to
considera bic end pressure. as the fold
has low saddles at intervals along its
course. But this has In NO way radi-
cally changed the course Of the struc-
ture. A line drawn from the Bair
camp through Mahoney Dome near
the Big Mahoney Gasser thence
through the Producers Camp near
the recent gasser will, in the main
follow the axis OF the anticlinal fold. |
From this point east to the semin-
oles Mountains thsre occurs . geo
logical freak. The beds instead Of
lying nornally nDoa the flank Of tia
,lpllft have b0en completely inverted.
This turling .;ekes eo0tiAaes 70 ~
east end of tAsSfttaA and in fast tAe
east end has likswiss bsea turnsa