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Riley and Geary County Geology

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Detailed Sections, continued

(46) S line sec. 24, T. 10 S, R. 7 E.

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Foraker limestone (45.7 feet exposed) Feet
Long Creek limestone member
Limestone, yellow, thin beds 6
Hughes Creek shale member (39.7 feet exposed)
Shale, upper part covered, abundant fusulinids 16
Limestone 0.8
Shale, fossiliferous 8
Shale, calcareous, fossiliferous 1.5
Limestone, fossiliferous 1
Shale, gray blocky 1.5
Limestone, yellow 0.9
Shale, gray, many fossils near base: Derbyia sp., Hustedia mormoni, Chonetes granulifer, and crinoid stems 10

(47) C N 1/2 sec. 26, T. 10 S, R. 7 E.

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  Feet
Loess 25
Bader limestone
Eiss limestone member
Limestone, light in color, pitted, poorly exposed 2
Stearns shale
Covered interval 25
Beattie limestone (19 feet)
Morrill limestone member
Covered 2
Florena shale member
Covered interval 11
Cottonwood limestone member
Limestone, characteristic Cottonwood limestone of the area 6
Eskridge shale (32.9 feet)
Shale, green and gray, limy concretions 5.5
Limestone, thin beds 0.7
Shale, gray, green, chocolate-color, more gray near top, chocolate-colored layers stand out as miniature cliffs 26.7
Grenola limestone (33.9 feet)
Neva limestone member (17.7 feet)
Limestone, light-gray, dense 0.6
Shale, gray 1.5
Limestone, light-gray massive; irregular shale partings, a persistent parting 2.1 feet above base 8.3
Marlite, limy, weathers as shale, more or less honeycombed 1.6
Limestone, impure resistant 1.2
Shale, gray, dark near base, siltstone near top 3.2
Limestone, gray nodular fossiliferous, small fusulinids 1.3
Salem Point shale member (8.3 feet)
Shale, gray, slightly calcareous 3.2
Shale, more limy than above 1.5
Shale, gray 3.6
Burr limestone member (7.9 feet)
Limestone, light-gray, somewhat laminated, ostracodes in upper part 4.5
Shale, black, locally gray in upper part, fissile 1.4
Limestone, light in color, impure argillaceous fossiliferous, Rhombopora sp., Septopora sp., Polypora sp., Dictyoclostus americanus 2
Roca shale (25.8 feet)
Shale, black in upper part, mostly gray, lower part more calcareous, weathers yellow near base (Formerly called Legion shale) 4.5
Limestone, light-gray fossiliferous (Formerly called Sallyards limestone) 1
Shale, varicolored, mostly green, limy nodules in part 7
Shale, red and green, some gray 1.5
Mudstone, gray, irregular uper contact, variable thickness about 2
Shale, greenish-gray argillaceous 3.5
Limestone, dark-gray 0.3
Shale, mostly greenish-gray, some red near top 6
Red Eagle limestone (10.9 feet exposed)
Howe limestone member
Limestone, impure, or siltstone 3
Bennett shale member (7.9 feet exposed)
Shale, light in color 0.8
Shale,black 0.2
Shale, dark-gray, brachiopods, though not as abundant as in black shale below 1.4
Shell bed, brachiopods, predominantly Composita subtilita 0.5
Shale, black fissile, fossils 0.8
Shell bed, mostly brachiopods, Crurithyris sp., Linoproductus prattenianus, Composita subtilita 0.2
Shale, black, more or less fissile, lower part blocky and non-fissile 2
Limestone, nearly white, few fossils, mostly as fragments, Pinna sp 2

(48) On Blue Mount in northeast part of Manhattan, sec. 7, T. 10 S., R. 8 E.

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Beattie limestone Feet
Cottonwood limestone member
Limestone, light in color, massive, many fusulinids in upper part, siliceous nodules 6
Eskridge shale
Shale, under covered slope, word "Manhattan" in concrete letters on the slope 27
Grenola limestone
Neva limestone member
Limestone, partly exposed in old quarry 10
Lower part of Grenola limestone and upper part of Roca shale
Covered slope 50
Roca shale
Limestone, probably not all exposed 0.8
Shale, green and chocolate-color 7
Red Eagle limestone (11.9 feet)
Howe limestone member (4.8 feet)
Limestone, massive 1.3
Limestone, shaly 0.8
Limestone, impure, grading into cancellate shale below 2.7
Bennett shale member (5.4 feet)
Shale, green and gray, darker near base 4.2
Shale, black, white brachiopod fossils 1.2
Glenrock limestone member
Limestone, gray, weathers brown, locally a limestone breccia 1.7
Johnson shale (18.1 feet)
Shale, gray, some black near base 5.5
Limestone, gray and yellow, laminated 2
Mudstone 0.6
Shale, arenaceous 1
Shale, gray 2
Mudstone 1
Shale 0.5
Mudstone 0.5
Shale, not well exposed 5
Foraker limestone (47.4 feet exposed)
Long Creek limestone member (4.9 feet)
Limestone, thin beds, weathers cellular, pink quartz crystals projecting from surface; locally weathers as shale 2
Shale, gray argillaceous blocky 0.9
Shale, dark calcareous 0.5
Limestone, light-brown and gray, thin beds, more massive in lower part, weathers as shale 1.5
Hughes Creek shale member (38.4 feet)
Shale, gray and yellow, small geodes and calcite veins 1.9
Mudstone, brown 0.3
Limestone or blocky shale, weathers as shale 1.5
Shale, gray, locally dark 1
Limestone, abundant fusulinids 0.9
Shale, gray, abundant fusulinids, locally with unit next above stands out as limestone 0.5
Shale, mostly dark, carbonaceous 6
Limestone, dark-gray fossiliferous, weathers light in color 0.7
Shale, black, lighter near top, fossils, Orbiculoidea sp. and Lingula sp. 0.2
Shale 2.2
Limestone, light-gray fossiliferous 1.2
Shale, dark near top, lower part not well exposed 8.7
Limestone, dark 1.3
Limestone, gray granular, fossiliferous at top 1
Shale, mostly covered 11
Americus limestone member (4.1 feet exposed)
Limestone, impure 0.4
Shale, greenish-gray 0.2
Limestone, blue 1
Shale, carbonaceous, thin beds 1.6
Limestone, gray granular 0.9

(49) C S line sec. 28, T. 10 S., R. 8 E.

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Wreford limestone Feet
Threemile limestone member (8.05 feet exposed)
Limestone, light in color, flinty 2
Limestone, light in color, no flint, weathers to pitted surfaces, ledge-making 1.8
Limestone, flinty 1.55
Shale, gray fossiliferous 0.8
Limestone, flinty 1.9
Speiser shale (13 feet)
Shale, gray fossiliferous, Chonetes granulifer, Productids, few pelecypods 2.3
Limestone, light in color, granular, weathers yellow 1.1
Shale, gray, calcareous seams 1.45
Limestone, gray, thin beds, weathers brown 0.2
Shale, green and gray 2.7
Shale, chocolate-color 2
Shale, green calcareous 0.75
Shale, green and red, red in splotches 1.2
Shale, greenish-gray calcareous 1.3
Funston limestone (10.6 feet)
Limestone, white chalky, nodular 1.8
Shale, gray and green 0.7
Limestone, light in color, more massive in upper part, almost a fine-grained oolite 5.5
Shale, gray 1.1
Limestone, brown, calcite-filled geodes in upper part, coquina in lower part 1.5
Blue Rapids shale
Shale, upper 10 feet mostly gray, some red about 10 feet from top, rest of unit covered 29.1
Crouse limestone
Limestone, brown granular, upper part tabular, lower part massive 6
Easly Creek shale (23.6 feet)
Covered interval, mostly shale 10.2
Limestone, gray muddy laminated 0.9
Shale, gray, chocolate-colored bands 12.5
Bader limestone (18A feet exposed)
Middleburg limestone member (3.9 feet)
Limestone, brown granular 0.4
Shale, mostly black 0.6
Limestone, light in color, granular, rough to touch, shaly in lower part 2.9
Hooser shale member
Shale, green and gray 4.5
Eiss limestone member
Limestone, light in color, not well exposed (Note: Top of Cottonwood limestone member of Beattie limestone formation is 37 feet below base of Eiss limestone in this section) 10

(50) Sec. 34, T. 10 S, R. 8 E.

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Bader limestone Feet
Eiss limestone member
Limestone, light in color, not well exposed, makes topographic bench on hills 5
Stearns shale
Shale, mostly gray, calcareous, some thin beds of limestone near top 13
Limestone and shale, olive-green shale near top; irregular mass of veins of calcite and limestone, somewhat indefinite top 1.6
Shale, gray 1.5
Beattie limestone (15 feet)
Morrill limestone member
Limestone, brownish-gray hard, weathers into irregular masses of calcite-filled pits 3
Florena shale member
Shale, gray, fossiliferous near base, Chonetes granulifer, bryozoa, crinoid stems 6
Cottonwood limestone member
Limestone, light in color, massive, slightly silicified nodules, fusulinids 6
Eskridge shale (31.8 feet)
Shale, gray calcareous, pelecypods in lower part 5.5
Limestone, gray silty 0.3
Shale, gray, red, and green, some calcareous material 26
Grenola limestone
Neva limestone member (14.7 feet exposed)
Limestone, light in color, massive, brittle, and somewhat nodular 8
Shale, yellow and gray, fossiliferous in upper part, Triticites obesus, Triticites ventricosus, Axophyllum sp., crinoid stems, plates, and columnals, Lissochonetes geinitzianus, Chonetes granulifer, Hustedia mormoni, Crurithyris sp. 1.7
Limestone, gray hard; more or less nodular and brecciated, upper part weathers as shale and grades into nodular shale above 5

(51) Sec. 36, T. 10 S., R. 8 E.

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Permian System Feet
Foraker limestone (33.9 feet exposed)
Hughes Creek shale member
Covered interval, myriads of fusulinids 30
Americus limestone member (3.9 feet)
Limestone, bluish-gray, fusulinids, crinoid stems, Chonetes granulifer 0.9
Shale, almost black, fossiliferous 2
Limestone, impure, not well exposed 1
Hamlin shale
Five Point limestone
West Branch shale
Covered interval 38
Falls City limestone (11.7 feet)
Limestone, dense gray argillaceous, flecks of limonite 0.9
Shale, calcareous, nodules 0.3
Limestone, few brachiopods, pelecypods 0.5
Shale not well exposed 10
Hawxby shale
Shale not well exposed 34
Aspenwall limestone
Limestone, very poorly exposed ?
Towle shale
Unnamed shale member  
Mostly covered, limonitic shale; where seen grades(?) into Indian Cave sandstone member below 20
Indian Cave sandstone member
Sandstone and sandy shale, gray, weathers brown, micaceous, grains of quartz stained with iron rust, clay matrix; limonitic concretions in upper part, dark shaly layers in upper part 75
Carboniferous System, Pennsylvanian Subsystem
Brownville(?) limestone (5.5 feet)
Limestone, brown, deeply weathered 0.5 ±
Shale, greenish-gray fissile 3 ±
Limestone, brown and gray, deeply weathered, Chonetes sp., Marginifera wabashensis, fusulinids 2 ±
Pony Creek shale
Shale, gray to yellow, calcareous 3 ±

(52) NE sec. 28, T. 10 S., R. 9 E.

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Dover limestone Feet
Limestone, light in color, crystalline fossil fragments 2±
Table Creek shale (18 feet)
Shale, covered 12 ±
Shale, gray 6
Maple Hill limestone
Limestone, bluish-gray to yellow, weathers brown, small fusulinids numerous, granular, showing calcite cleavage faces, fusulinids weather lighter in color than matrix 1.4
Pierson Point shale
Shale, yellow and gray, limonitic concretions, irregular beds 17
Tarkio limestone (11 feet)
Limestone, light in color, thin beds, fragments of other fossils and Triticites ventricosus 5
Limestone, gray, weathers brown, cliff-forming, massive throughout but more massive in lower part, irregular beds, stylolites along planes, Triticites ventricosus abundant 6
Willard shale (32 feet)
Shale, yellow and gray, blocky, argillaceous 8.5
Shale and sandstone, micaceous sandstone in a few thin beds, mostly shale 23.5
Elmont limestone
Limestone, dark-blue to almost black in part, and brownish-blue to purplish-brown, weathers gray, deeply stained with iron rust, calcite cleavage faces on fracture, clusters of fossil fragments on bedding planes, Triticites acutus abundant 2
Harveyville shale
Shale, gray in upper part, yellow in lower part, hard calcareous and limonitic concretions in upper part 15
Reading limestone
Limestone, brown and gray, slightly crystalline, crinoid stems 2.1
Auburn shale
Shale, gray, upper part dark 12

(53) Near the C sec. 29, T. 10 S, R. 9 E.

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Permian System Feet
Falls City limestone
Limestone, gray brecciated, in part a coquina of pelecypods, exposed in old quarry at top of bill 1.5
Covered slope 48 ±
Indian Cave sandstone
Sandstone, fine gray micaceous, partly covered 18
Carboniferous System, Pennsylvanian Subsystem
Dover limestone
Limestone, light-gray, mostly covered 2
Table Creek shale
Shale, covered 10
Maple Hill limestone
Limestone, light in color, crinoid columnals and Triticites acutus, almost covered, makes bench on hillside ?
Pierson Point shale
Shale, covered 15
Tarkio limestone
Limestone, gray and brown, massive but deeply weathered giant fusulinids, Triticites ventricosus 10

(54) SE sec. 32, T. 10 S., R. 9 E.

Tarkio limestone Feet
Limestone, brown massive, giant fusulinids 6
Willard shale
Covered slope 20
Elmont limestone
Limestone, dark-blue to almost black, brittle, massive, weathers gray to brown, shows splotches of iron rust, calcite cleavage on fresh surfaces, small fusulinids 1.5
Harveyville shale
Shale, (mostly covered) 20
Reading limestone
Limestone, brown dense hard, beds 6 to 7 inches thick 2

(55) C N sec. 14, T. 11 S., R. 4 E.

Winfield limestone (27.2 feet exposed) Feet
Luta(?) limestone member (12.7 feet)
Limestone, almost white, chalky, large calcite geodes 4
Shale, white powdery, beds of limestone near top, geodes 0.5
Limestone, almost white, chalky, yellow calcite concretions, locally a chalky shale 5
Shale, very chalky, small calcite geodes 3.2
Cresswell limestone member
Limestone, light-gray, weathers white, massive,shaly in lower part, uneven contact with Grant shale member below, echinoid spines 3.5
Grant shale member
Shale, gray 10
Stovall limestone member
Limestone, gray fossiliferous flinty 1

(56) Sec. 22, T. 11 S., R. 5 E.

Doyle shale Feet
Towanda limestone member
Limestone, mostly covered  
Holmesville shale member
Covered interval 22.5
Barneston limestone (49.3 feet)
Fort Riley limestone member (17.3 feet)
Limestone, light in color, pitted, thinner beds in upper part 1.6
Covered interval 12
Limestone, light in color, massive "rim rock," pitted upon weathered surfaces 3.7
Oketo shale member(?)
Covered interval 5
Florence limestone member (27 feet)
Covered interval 12
Limestone, massive, no flint at top; shaly, no flint at base, flinty in other parts 15
Matfield shale (47.6 feet exposed)
Blue Springs shale member (35.3 feet)
Shale, gray, red, and green 20
Limestone, light in color, weathers red 0.8
Shale, gray, some red and green 14.5
Kinney limestone member (6.3 feet)
Limestone, impure, weathers as shale, grades into shale below 3
Shale, gray calcareous fossiliferous 1.3
Limestone, impure granular, grades into shale below 2
Wymore shale member
Shale, gray, somewhat blocky near base 6

(57) C S line sec. 7, T. 11 S, R. 8 E.

Wreford limestone (38.8 feet exposed) Feet
Schroyer limestone member
Limestone, flinty 2
Covered slope, concealing lower part of Schroyer limestone, Havensville shale, and upper part of Threemile limestone 30
Threemile limestone member
Limestone, white, no flint 2
Limestone, flinty 2.3
Shale, gray fossiliferous 0.9
Limestone, flinty 1.6
Speiser shale (14.4 feet)
Shale, gray fossiliferous 2.1
Limestone, light in color, dense 0.7
Shale, red and green 11.6
Funston limestone
Limestone, light in color, chalky, massive 3.3
Blue Rapids shale
Shale, mostly gray, some bands of chocolate-color 20
Crouse limestone
Limestone, gray to brown, tabular, laminated, more massive in lower part 10
Easly Creek shale (22 feet)
Shale, yellow nodular 6
Limestone, gray, shaly in upper part 2
Shale, gray and green, lower 5 feet covered 14
Bader limestone (17.8 feet)
Middleburg limestone member (5.4 feet)
Limestone, brecciated 0.5
Shale, black 0.5
Limestone, dark, partly covered 3.6
Limestone, argillaceous 0.8
Hooser shale member
Shale, gray 5.6
Eiss limestone member (6.8 feet)
Limestone, pitted where weathered 2.7
Shale, gray 2.7
Limestone, gray earthy fossiliferous 1.4
Stearns shale
Shale, gray 20
Beattie limestone (17.5 feet)
Morrill limestone member
Limestone, brown, weathers into irregular mass, hardly more than a calcareous zone 2
Florena shale member
Shale, gray fossiliferous, not well exposed 10
Cottonwood limestone member
Limestone, light in color, massive, fusulinids 5.5
Eskridge shale
Shale, mostly gray, not all exposed 21.7
Grenola limestone (31.7 feet exposed)
Neva limestone member (13.1 feet)
Limestone, gray granular 1.5
Limestone, gray, mostly in thin beds 4.1
Limestone, gray brecciated 4.5
Shale, yellow and gray 2.5
Limestone, gray 0.5
Salem Point shale member
Shale, gray, calcareous at top 8.1
Burr limestone member (10.5 feet exposed)
Limestone, gray, thin beds, laminated 5.5
Limestone, gray dense 5

(58) Sec. 19, T. 11 S., R. 8 E.

Barneston limestone Feet
Florence limestone member
Covered interval 40
Matfield shale (83.5 feet)
Blue Springs shale member
Shale, green, chocolate-color, and gray, not well exposed 55
Kinney limestone member (3.8 feet)
Limestone, thin-bedded and shaly 3
Limestone, yellow to gray, massive, one bed 0.8
Wymore shale member
Shale, gray, green, chocolate-color, and yellow 24.7
Wreford limestone
Schroyer limestone member (6 feet exposed)
Limestone, light in color, no flint 2
Covered interval 4
Limestone, flinty ?

(59) Sec. 31, T. 11 S, R. 8 E.

Wreford limestone Feet
Threemile limestone member (9.5 feet exposed)
Limestone, thin beds 1
Limestone, flinty 1
Limestone, light in color, weathers gray, no flint, fossils as fragments 2.2
Limestone, light in color to white, flint in bands 1 to 7 inches thick 2.3
Shale, gray fossiliferous 0.6
Limestone, gray flinty, crinoid stems in flint 2.4
Speiser shale
Shale, dark-gray, brachiopods 3

(60) C S sec. 5, T. 11 S, R. 9 E.

Tarkio limestone (13.2 feet exposed) Feet
Limestone, light-gray, small amount green and brown, granular, Triticites ventricosus, Rhombopora sp 2.1
Limestone and calcareous shale, mostly limestone, weathers as shale, very brown in lower part 2.7
Shale, gray 2.2
Limestone, brown massive, giant fusulinids 6.2
Willard shale
Shale, gray 5

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Kansas Geological Survey, Geology of Riley and Geary Counties
Web version Nov. 2000. Original publication date Dec. 1941.
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The URL for this page is http://www.kgs.ku.edu/General/Geology/Riley/sect04.html