Montana oil journal. (Great Falls, Mont.) 192?-1931, 1931-03-14
An Afternoon With Prehistoric Monsters


No more engrossing subject can
be found than GEOLOGY which
has 70 do with tina history Of tie
forming Of the world NE now know.
chin layer Of rocks whlch We
now refer 10 "a q ''thin she'll bad"
represents thousands upon thou
sands Of years OF the history OF
this planes.
In studying the rocks exposed IN
Montana We can read the history Of
s0,000.0oo years.
Thus are the formations which
make up the present landscape In
Montana and especially n the oil
fields country called ''yoUnger" for
nations, because they ara perhaps
only eight or ten million years old.
Geology Is the science that makes
= scientific back ground for the oil
industry. Geology tells why e Is
futile to drill tor oil IN some re-
gfons, such as In Minnesota, where
the rocks are known 20 be older
than the existence Of any life whieh
might form petroleum. Geology
tells khnt three-Gourths Of the area
OF Montana Is Underlain with OLE
forming rocks. Geology goes q ssep
farther and tells where oil Is most
likely to be found and points pretty
definitely to the places where Oh
viii NOT be found.
The writer recently visited 8
prospective new oil field and spent
parf OF q day digging in q cut bank
Tor fossila--thinEs that were liv~
ing creatures millions Of years ago.
High walls Of shale with vari-col-
orad layers telling the story Of nm
recorded ages before man existed
appeal to the imagination as can
nothing else.
The shales were OF Cretaeeous
age-CoI dorado formation. This for
nation produces oil and gas m
parts OF Montana and In some
places It is covered with thousands
Of feet Of younger beds Of shaAe
and sandstone. Yet In northwestern
Montana the farmers grow great
crops on q thin bed Of soil whach
rests upon the Colorado shates
which millions Of years ago teemed
wmh life--when giants fought for
mastery OF the earth-when the
weak became food for the strong
and incidentally. the transition pc
riod when the brute strength o. the
great dinosaurs ceased TO give those
gigantic reptiles the undlsputo0
rule Of the earth-with the coming
of armor plate.
On these black shaies. egerywhero
present in the Sweafgrasa Arch
where we today find the bones Of
creaAurea extinct for millions Of
years. was waged this great battle
The Crekace0us seas were COM
DaratEvely shallow. The earth's sur-
face was relatively flat and the seas
covered 3 great part Of the earth.
Crustai movements were small and
local In effect, 30 4hsTe we're few
nigh mountains In the early part
81 this period and the fossil re-
mains clearly show that here IN
Montana the climate was sub-trop-
icai. Ferns grew 10 the proportions
81 trees. We fonnd one trophy that
reaem bies q gigantic rose bud 30
inches In circumference Several
fern stalks IS large as a mans Les
were found.
II was not until the close Of the
period that q series Of great de-
formative movements was inaugu-
rated and continued into the next
period. II was during this time
that the Rocky Mountains gradually
EMERGED and the several mountain
ranges Of the North American con-
tinent began 70 BE- elexnked shove
the awamps. While volcanic activity
was in allegiance Ia EuF0ps and Ia
much OF Anla, its fan force WAS
felt In America where m&ny ernp-
tons and intruslons q igneous rock
occurred, as In the Belt mountains
and the Highwood mountains Of
Montana.