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Eastern Shawnee County

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Stratigraphic Sections

Each geologic formation or member that crops out in eastern Shawnee County and vicinity is represented, at least in part, in one or more of the measured sections that follow. No complete stratigraphic sections of the Kanwaka, Severy, and Scranton Shales are included, and the section of the Oread Limestone was measured in Douglas County a short distance east of the mapped area. Approximately half the sections were measured by W. D. Johnson, Jr., and W. L. Adkison. The rest were measured by Johnson, assisted at one locality by H. W. Miller of the State Geological Survey of Kansas. Lists of fossils in the U.S. Geological Survey Permian and Carboniferous fossil collection (for example, 19441-PC) and foraminiferal collection (for example, f12995) noted in the measured sections are shown in the text under the proper stratigraphic unit. Those fossil identifications not credited are field identifications made by the authors.

1. Composite section of the Oread Limestone

[Kereford Limestone Member through Plattsmouth Limestone Member, measured along road in the SW cor. SE sec. 35; Heebner Shale Member in the NE NW sec. 36, T. 13 S., R. 17 E.; Leavenworth Limestone Member and Snyderville Shale Member in the W2 NW sec. 29, T. 13 S., R. 18 E., Douglas County]

Oread Limestone feet
Kereford Limestone Member  
Limestone, light-olive-gray, argillaceous; irregular beds as much as 0.2 ft thick; weathers in part to small light-gray to light-olive-gray cobbles; scattered small moderate-brown iron-rich masses; abundant fusulinids, Derbyia, Marginifera, and other brachiopods; poorly exposed; upper contact arbitrarily chosen 5.1
Heumader Shale Member  
Claystone (deeply weathered), light-olive-gray, slightly silty; many light-gray argillaceous limestone pellets as much as 0.02 ft long; upper contact irregular 4.2
Plattsmouth Limestone Member  
Limestone, medium-light-gray to medium-gray, very fine grained, hard, compact; thin to medium wavy beds; probably very argillaceous along bedding planes; weathers light yellowish gray to light gray and moderate yellowish brown; irregular masses as much as 0.3 ft thick of medium-gray to brownish-gray dense fossiliferous chert in zone 1 ft thick about 5 ft above. base; very abundant brachiopods and abundant algae (Cryptozoon ?) and crinoids; base not exposed 11.4+
Heebner Shale Member  
Claystone, olive-brown, silty, laminated to platy; weathers light gray to light olive gray; grades into overlying unit 3.1
Claystone, brownish-black to black, finely laminated; weathers to fissile grayish-black to black laminae; upper 0.1 ft gradational into overlying claystone; conodonts 2.7
Thickness of Heebner Shale Member 5.8
Leavenworth Limestone Member  
Limestone, medium-gray to medium-dark-gray, very fine grained, hard, compact; weathers to medium-light-gray to moderate-yellowish-brown vertically jointed bed; upper surface irregular, pitted; abundant Osagia, fusulinids, horn corals, crinoid columnals, and Meekella, Hustedia, Chonetes, and other brachiopods, particularly at top of bed; forms ledge 1.6
Snyderville Shale Member  
Claystone, olive-gray; weathers light olive gray; abundant irregularly shaped nodules 0.01-0.08 ft in diameter of very light gray very finely crystalline argillaceous unfossiliferous limestone that weathers light yellowish gray; upper part poorly exposed; upper contact estimated 6.3
Thickness of exposed Oread Limestone 34.4

2. Basal part of the Tecumseh Shale down into the Jackson Park Shale Member of the Kanwaka Shale

[Lower two-thirds measured along road in the NE NE sec. 33; upper one-third measured in pasture in the center of the SW NE sec. 33, T. 13 S., R. 17 E., Shawnee County]

Tecumseh Shale feet
Claystone, light-gray, laminated to platy, silty; weathers light olive gray; many beds as much as 0.03 ft thick of hard siltstone that weathers dark yellowish brown especially in lower 3 ft; top not present 9.0
Lecompton Limestone  
Avoca Limestone Member  
Limestone, medium-gray, very fine grained, very thin bedded, slightly argillaceous; weathers to light-olive-gray plates; top of unit weathers dark reddish brown; very abundant shell fragments; abundant crinoids; fusulinids much less abundant than in underlying bed 1.3
Limestone, medium-dark-gray, very fine grained, hard; weathers medium light gray to light olive gray; very abundant fusulinids in relief; abundant fine shell hash; forms ledge 2.2
Thickness of Avoca Limestone Member 3.5
King Hill Shale Member  
Claystone, light-olive- to light-greenish-gray, silty, laminated; abundant light-gray argillaceous limestone pellets as much as 0.1 ft long; partly covered 3.4
Limestone (deeply weathered), pale-yellowish-orange to moderate-yellowish-brown, very argillaceous; weathers to cellular and pitted blocks 1.0
Covered interval 1.1
Limestone (deeply weathered), moderate-yellowish-brown, very argillaceous; forms nodular layer .2
Claystone, light-olive-gray, Iaminated .4
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very thin bedded; argillaceous, especially in lower 0.3 ft, compact; weathers pale yellowish orange to light yellowish brown; upper part weathers to oval plates .9
Claystone, light-olive-gray, calcareous; weathers pale yellowish orange; grades into overlying unit 1.5
Claystone, light-olive-gray to light-greenish-gray, laminated; many light-gray argillaceous limestone pellets 0.01-0.1 ft long--most less than 0.03 ft long 2.1
Thickness of King Hill Shale Member 10.6
Beil Limestone Member  
Limestone, light-gray to very light brownish gray, very fine grained, hard; weathers light olive gray; many small inclusions of light-greenish-gray argillaceous limestone; very abundant small Osagia, very abundant fine fragments of brachiopods; forms single resistant bed 0.4
Claystone, light-gray to light-olive-gray, silty; weathers light olive gray; abundant very small light-yellowish-orange specks; lower half poorly exposed 3.4
Limestone, medium-light-gray, very finely crystalline; weathers to thin light-yellowish-brown to light-olive-gray wavy beds; fusulinids, corals, bryozoans, Derbyia and other brachiopods 2.2-2.4
Limestone, medium-light-gray to light-olive-gray, very argillaceous, platy to very thin bedded; both upper and lower contacts gradational, irregular; fusulinids, Composita and other brachiopods; on weathering, forms reentrant 0.1-0.5
Limestone, medium-light-gray, very finely crystalline, argillaceous; weathers pale yellowish brown; abundant fusulinids, crinoid columnals, bryozoans, and brachiopods 3.0-3.2
Thickness of Beil Limestone Member 9.1-9.9
Queen Hill Shale Member  
Covered interval 1.2
Claystone, dark-gray, platy; weathers brownish gray; upper contact covered .8
Claystone, grayish-black, finely laminated; weathers to fissile fragments that show fine iridescence .2
Claystone, medium-gray, very silty; weathers brownish gray .1
Thickness of Queen Hill Shale Member 2.3
Big Springs Limestone Member  
Limestone, medium-light-gray, very finely crystalline; weathers to light-gray bed; upper contact sharp, even; abundant fusulinids and brachiopods in upper part; very abundant grayish-red fusulinids in lower 1.1 ft 2.0
Claystone, olive-gray, very calcareous; very abundant fusulinids; forms reentrant .2
Limestone, medium-light-gray, very finely crystalline, slightly argillaceous; weathers light olive gray; basal contact sharp, even; very abundant grayish-red fusulinids .6
Thickness of Big Springs Limestone Member 2.8
Doniphan Shale Member  
Claystone, medium-gray; slightly silty; weathers olive gray 0.8
Covered interval 1.2
Siltstone (deeply weathered), medium-light-gray to light-olive-gray, clayey; abundant light-gray limestone pellets less than 0.02 ft long; unfossiliferous 3.0
Limestone, light-olive-gray, argillaceous, thin-bedded; medium-light-gray, dense limestone in upper 0.2 ft; sub-conchoidal fracture; weathers moderate yellowish brown to olive brown .8
Claystone (deeply weathered), light-olive-gray .2
Thickness of Doniphan Shale Member 6.0
Spring Branch Limestone Member  
Limestone, yellowish-brown, argillaceous; weathers moderate yellowish brown; scattered fusulinids, crinoid columnals, and brachiopods 0.2
Claystone, medium-light-gray, silty, platy; weathers light olive gray to light yellowish orange; very abundant fusulinids .4
Limestone, light-olive-gray, argillaceous; very abundant fusulinids .4
Claystone, medium-light-gray, silty, platy; weathers light olive gray to light yellowish orange; very abundant fusulinids .3
Limestone, light-olive-gray, argillaceous; fusulinids .3
Claystone (deeply weathered) ; probably medium light gray, silty, platy; weathers light olive gray to light yellowish orange; very abundant fusulinids .4
Limestone, medium-gray, very finely crystalline, thick-bedded; forms two beds on weathering, separated by claystone parting 0.05 ft thick 2.8 ft above base; basal contact sharp, even; very abundant fusulinids, crinoid columnals and brachiopods; forms prominent ledge 5.4
Thickness of Spring Branch Limestone Member 7.4
Thickness of Lecompton Limestone 41.7-42.5
Kanwaka Shale  
Stull Shale Member  
Siltstone, medium- to medium-light-gray, micaceous; 0.1 ft light-gray very fine grained micaceous sandstone near middle 1.7
Covered interval 17.9
Siltstone, medium-gray, micaceous; weathers light olive gray; oval concentric-weathering ironstone concretions that weather moderate yellowish brown in layer about 0.1 ft thick 0.1 ft below top 1.2
Covered interval; probably siltstone .9
Siltstone, medium-gray, micaceous; weathers light olive gray; olive-gray very fine grained sandstone bed 0.05 ft thick about 0.3 ft above base 1.9
Claystone, silty, platy, micaceous; weathers light olive gray mottled with olive brown; scattered carbonaceous material 5.0
Covered interval; probably claystone 4.5
Claystone, medium-gray, slightly silty, platy to very thin bedded; weathers light olive gray 1.8
Thickness of Stull Shale Member 34.9
Clay Creek Limestone Member  
Limestone, olive-gray, very argillaceous, very thin bedded; weathers moderate olive brown; capped by olive-gray silty limestone layer 0.02 ft thick; abundant fragments 0.2
Claystone, medium-dark-gray, platy, calcareous; weathers olive gray with patches of olive brown; crinoid columnals .2
Limestone, medium-gray, argillaceous, very thin bedded; weathers to yellowish-brown to olive-gray platy to rubbly beds; a more resistant bed 1.2 ft thick about 1 ft above base; abundant small fusulinids 3.5
Thickness of Clay Creek Limestone Member 3.9
Jackson Park Shale Member  
Siltstone, light-olive-gray, platy, very finely micaceous; upper contact sharp; base not exposed 0.8+
Thickness of exposed Kanwaka Shale 39.6

3. Ozawkie Limestone Member of the Deer Creek Limestone down into the King Hill Shale Member of the Lecompton Limestone

[Along creek and along old farm road in the NE SE and SE SE sec. 27, T. 12 S., R. 17 E., Shawnee County]

Deer Creek Limestone feet
Ozawkie Limestone Member  
Limestone (deeply weathered); large moderate-yellowish-brown blocks; base not exposed; abundant Osagia, very abundant fusulinids 2.7+
Tecumseh Shale  
Siltstone (deeply weathered), pale-olive, clayey; poorly exposed 5.0
Siltstone, medium-gray, very finely sandy, laminated to platy; weathers olive gray 1.5
Siltstone, medium-gray, clayey .5
Sandstone, light-olive-gray to olive-brown, very fine grained, platy, micaceous .4
Siltstone, medium-gray to pale-olive, clayey, platy .7
Sandstone, pale-olive, very fine grained, silty, platy to very thin bedded, micaceous; limonite enrichment at top; carbonaceous material on bedding planes .8
Siltstone, pale-olive, laminated to platy .3
Siltstone, olive-gray, laminated; iron stain on bedding planes .1
Siltstone, medium-gray to light-olive-gray, laminated to platy; scattered carbonaceous material on bedding planes .6
Sandstone, light-olive-gray, very fine grained, platy, micaceous; carbonaceous material on bedding planes .4
Limestone, hard, conglomeratic; weathers moderate yellowish brown; abundant light-yellowish-gray to light-olive-gray argillaceous limestone granules and pebbles as much as 0.04 ft long; forms resistant ledge .7
Covered interval 5.5
Siltstone, moderate-olive-brown to light-olive-gray clayey; bedding indistinct; weathers to spheroidal or pencillike fragments; reddish-brown iron stain on joints and bedding planes; scattered plant fragments 27.5
Covered interval; probably claystone 15.5
Claystone, light-olive-gray, platy; weathers light gray to light yellowish gray; small pyrite inclusions; basal contact sharp, even; few small crinoid columnals 2.7
Thickness of Tecumseh Shale 62.2
Lecompton Limestone  
Avoca Limestone Member  
Limestone, medium-light-gray (with olive tint), argillaceous; in two very thin wavy beds 0.3 ft thick; scattered fusulinids, crinoid columnaIs, bryozoans, small brachiopods, and few cephalopods 0.6
Claystone (deeply weathered), medium-dark-gray; exposed along creek .4
Limestone, medium-gray, very finely crystalline, very thin to thin-bedded; weathers to moderate-yellowish-brown vertically jointed bed; basal contact sharp, irregular; very abundant fusulinids; some brachiopods; forms ledge that causes a waterfall 2.5
Thickness of Avoca Limestone Member 3.5
King Hill Shale Member  
Siltstone, medium-gray, clayey, platy; abundant brachiopods; only uppermost part exposed below waterfall on Avoca Limestone Member 0.51+
Thickness of exposed Lecompton Limestone 4.0

4. Composite section of the Deer Creek Limestone

[Ervine Creek Limestone Member in quarry in the SE SE sec. 20; middle members and upper part of the Ozawkie Limestone Member in roadcut on south line of the SW SW sec. 21; and lower part of Ozawkie Limestone Member in roadcut In the SW cor. NW NW sec. 27, T. 13 S., R. 16 E., Shawnee County]

Calhoun Shale feet
Claystone, medium-gray, silty, platy; weathers light olive gray to moderate yellowish brown; scattered carbonaceous material on bedding planes in lower 1.5 ft; top not exposed 8.0+
Deer Creek Limestone  
Ervine Creek Limestone Member  
Limestone, brownish-gray to olive-gray, very argillaceous; abundant crinoid columnals, bryozoans, shell fragments, and productid(?) spines 0.2
Claystone, laminated, very calcareous; weathers light olive gray to pale yellowish brown .4
Limestone, medium-gray, very argillaceous, thin- to medium-bedded; weathers to light-olive-gray smoothly rounded layers; subconchoidal fracture; upper contact gradational; scattered brachiopods and pelecypods 8.5
Limestone, medium-light-gray to medium-gray, very finely crystalline; thin to medium wavy beds as much as 0.9 ft thick; very argillaceaus adjacent to bedding planes; weathers light olive gray to moderate yellowish brown; abundant fusulinids, horn corals, crinoid columnals, bryozoans, and brachiopods 9.0
Thickness of Ervine Creek Limestone Member 18.1
Larsh and Burraak Shale Members  
Claystone, medium-gray, slight silty, laminated to platy; weathers olive gray to olive brown; scattered pelecypod(?) casts 3.5
Claystone, black, laminated, very finely micaceaus; weathers to brownish-black to dark-olive-gray fissile fragments; orbiculoid brachiopads(?), small pelecypods, conodants 1.2
Claystone, calcareous; weathers olive gray; small brachiopods; other fossil fragments .1
Thickness of Larsh and Burroak Shale Members 4.8
Rock Bluff Limestone Member  
Limestone, medium-gray, very finely crystalline, thin- to medium-bedded; weathers olive gray to moderate yellowish brown; sub-conchaidal fracture; crystalline calcite fills shell casts; lower contact sharp, undulating; upper contact sharp, regular; abundant Osagia, fusulinids, crinoid columnals, and brachiopods; forms prominent vertically jointed ledge 2.8
Oskaloosa Shale Member  
Claystone, medium-gray, slightly silty, platy; weathers olive gray; light-gray limestone pellets less than 0.05 ft in diameter in upper 0.2 ft; abundant very small pyritic inclusions; scattered brachiapads and pelecypads 6.8
Ozawkie Limestone Member  
Limestone, very fine grained, slightly argillaceous, massive; weathers pale to maderate yellowish brown; small greenish-gray claystone inclusions; crystalline-calcite-filled fossil casts; crinoid calumnals; some fine Osagia 4.2
Claystone, very calcareous; weathers moderate yellowish brown in basal 0.3 ft and olive gray above; abundant light-olive-gray to yellowish-brown limestone fragments in upper 1 ft; upper contact sharp, slightly irregular 2.0
Limestone, very fine grained; weathers moderate yellowish brown to brownish gray; scattered small hard irregular ferruginaus limestone masses on weathered surfaces; fusulinids generally very abundant, sparse in upper 0.3 ft; crinoid calumnals, Composita, Juresania, and other brachiopods; some bryozaans; forms prominent ledge 3.9
Thickness of Ozawkie Limestone Member 10.1
Thickness of Deer Creek Limestone 42.6
Tecumseh Shale  
Claystone, medium-dark-gray, silty, platy, micaceous; weathers olive gray; upper contact sharp, even; scattered Chonetes and other brachiopods and pelecypods 1.8
Limestone, medium-light-gray, fine-grained, argillaceous; weathers light gray to pale yellowish brown; abundant Osagia, crinoid columnals, bryozoans, fine shell hash, and productid (?) spines 1.2
Claystone; weathers olive gray to moderate yellowish brown; moderate-yellowish-brown nodular limestone 0.15 ft thick in the middle; upper contact sharp, even .7
Limestone, medium-dark-gray, very fine grained, clayey to very silty; weathers to two olive-gray to moderete-yellowish-brown beds of equal thickness; some cellular-weathering limestone in upper 0.3 ft; abundant secondary-calcite stringers .6
Claystone, medium-dark-gray to olive-gray, silty, platy; abundant light-olive-gray siltstone laminae; bedding indistinct in upper 1 ft 3.6
Siltstone, laminated to platy, micaceous; weathers olive gray to olive brown; scattered very fine carbonaceous material on bedding planes; base not exposed 5.5+
Thickness of exposed Tecumseh Shale 13.4

5. Hartford Limestone Member of the Topeka Limestone down into the Ervine Creek Limestone Member of the Deer Creek Limestone

[Along road in the center of the N2 N2 N2 sec. 27, T. 10 S., R. 17 E., Jefferson County]

Topeka Limestone feet
Hartford Limestone Member  
Limestone (deeply weathered), moderate-yellowish-brown, very finely crystalline, hard; abundant fusulinids, crinoid columnals, and brachiopods; ledge poorly exposed 4.7
Calhoun Shale  
Sandstone, light-olive-gray, very fine grained, platy to very thin bedded; sandy siltstone partings; partly covered 9.8
Siltstone, light-olive-gray, sandy; grades upward into sandstone 5.0
Sandstone, calcareous, ferruginous; weathers to light-brown to reddish-brown concretions .2
Siltstone, light-olive-gray; silty sandstone layer 0.2 ft thick near middle 3.2
Sandstone, olive-gray, very fine grained, silty; capped by very thin layer that weathers yellowish orange .4
Siltstone, olive-gray, sandy 1.4
Siltstone, light-olive-gray, sandy; capped by calcareous concretionary sandstone bed 0.1 ft thick that weathers yellowish orange 2.4
Sandstone, light-olive-gray, very fine grained, silty, platy; capped by layer 0.05 ft thick that weathers yellowish orange .4
Siltstone, light-olive-gray; upper part more sandy 2.4
Sandstone, very fine grained, calcareous, concretionary; weathers light brown .1
Siltstone, light-olive-gray, clayey to sandy, finely laminated: weathers light olive gray 0.6
Sandstone, light-olive-gray, very fine grained, laminated to platy, micaceous; weathers to hard light-olive-gray finely crossbedded layers; some ripple-marked layers; interbedded with light-olive-gray sandy siltstone; unit capped by layer of calcareous sandstone concretions as much as 0.15 ft in diameter that weather light brown; black carbonaceous material on bedding planes 4.1
Siltstone, olive-gray; clayey to sandy in upper part; weathers light olive gray to light olive brown; upper contact gradational 3.3
Claystone, olive-gray, silty, platy to very thin bedded; weathers to light-olive-gray blocky to pencil-like fragments; upper contact gradational 3.2
Sandstone, olive-gray, calcareous, micaceous, fossiliferous; weathers light olive gray; moderate-yellowish-brown iron stain on joints 1.9
E. L. Yochelson (written commun., 1960) reported on the following forms present in this sandstone:
Lingula sp. indet.
Aviculopecten sp. indet.
Myalinid indet.
Knightites (Retispira) sp. indet.
Organic indeterminate (possibly Orbiculoidea) 		 
Siltstone, light-olive-gray, slightly clayey, platy; weathers light olive gray to light olive brown .7
Siltstone, olive-gray, coarse-grained, hard; weathers light olive gray; light-reddish-brown stain on joints; beds 0.2 ft thick .4
Siltstone, light-olive-gray to light-olive-brown, clayey .6
Claystone, light-olive-gray to light-olive-brown, silty; basal contact sharp, slightly irregular; upper contact gradational; few crinoid columnals and echinoid spines in basal 0.1 ft 1.6
Thickness of Calhoun Shale 41.7
Deer Creek Limestone  
Ervine Creek Limestone Member  
Limestone, olive-gray, silty, very fossiliferous; forms ledge that caps underlying unit 0.4
Limestone, olive-gray, very finely crystalline, silty, very fossiliferous; weathers to moderate-yellowish-brown porous beds 1.7
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline, hard, compact, fossiliferous; weathers to light-olive-gray to moderate-yellowish-brown thin to medium wavy beds; some layers very silty; a few siliceous hackly layers about 2 ft below top; base not exposed 7.9
USGS fossil loc. 19446-PC (f12983). From entire member.  
Thickness of exposed Ervine Creek Limestone Member 10.0
Thickness of exposed Deer Creek Limestone 10.0

6. Topeka Limestone and uppermost part of the Calhoun Shale

[Along U.S. Highway 24 in the N2 S2 sec. 14, T. 11 S., R. 16 E., Shawnee County]

Till feet
Topeka Limestone  
Coal Creek Limestone Member  
Limestone, light-olive-gray, silty; weather to nodular beds less than 0.2 ft thick; interbeds less than 0.05 ft thick of light-olive-gray calcareous siltstone; member capped by hard limestone bed 0.6 ft thick, underlain by siltstone bed 0.6 ft thick that contains a few limestone lenses; USGS fossil loc. 19447-PC (f12996) 4.4
Holt Shale Member  
Siltstone, dark-gray, laminated; weathers to medium-dark-gray fissile fragments; upper contact slightly irregular; rhombo-poroid bryozoans, brachiopods (cf. Crurithyris), conodonts(?); identifications by E. L. Yochelson (written commun., 1960) 2.1
Du Bois Limestone Member  
Limestone, medium-dark-gray, very finely crystalline, hard, compact; weathers to light-olive-gray to light-yellowish-gray vertically jointed bed; abundant brachiopods and gastropods 0.8
Turner Creek Shale Member  
Siltstone, light-olive-gray; pelecypods 0.4
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline; weathers to hard light-olive-gray bed; brachiopods, productid spines, gastropods .2
Siltstone, light-olive-gray, slightly sandy, platy .5
Limestone, medium-gray, very fine grained, hard; weathers medium light gray to light olive gray; abundant brachiopods, productid spines, and gastropods .1
Siltstone, light-olive-gray, slightly sandy; fossil fragments .5
Limestone, medium-dark-gray, hard; abundant very small pyrite and limestone pellets; very abundant fossil fragments .1
Siltstone, medium-light-gray, slightly sandy, platy; weathers light olive gray; scattered shell fragments 1.1
Thickness of Turner Creek Shale Member 2.9
Sheldon Limestone Member  
Limestone, light-gray to light-olive-gray; weathers light olive gray to very light yellowish brown; silty in lower 0.9 ft; forms ledge; base is generally poorly exposed; very small fossil fragments 3.5
Jones Point Shale Member  
Claystone, olive-gray, silty to very finely sandy; weathers light olive gray; micaceous on bedding planes 2.7
Curzon Limestone Member  
Limestone, light-yellowish-brown to olive-gray, very finely crystalline, hard; weathers to moderate-yellowish-brown vertically jointed bed; scattered Osagia, fusulinids, echinoid spines, fenestrate and ramose bryozoans, Linoproductus and other brachiopods, high-spired gastropods (aff. "Murchisonia"); identifications by E. L. Yochelson (written commun., 1960) 1.2
Limestone, light-olive-gray, silty; interbedded with light-olive-gray claystone; limestone weathers to thin irregular beds and lenses; fusulinids (USGS colln. f12998), crinoid plate and stem fragments, echinoid spines, rhomboporoid, ramose, and fenestrate bryozoans, Derbyia, Chonetes granulifer Owen, Neospirifer dunbari R. H. King, and Composita subtilita (Hall); identifications by E. L. Yochelson (written commun., 1960) 1. 8
Limestone, medium-light-gray, very finely crystalline, hard, compact, hackly; beds 0.4-1.3 ft thick; medium-light-gray silty limestone interbeds 0.3-0.5 ft thick; brownish-gray fossiliferous chert in irregular masses as much as 0.3 ft thick mainly in zone about 1 ft below top; some masses scattered in upper 2 ft; Osagia?, fusulinids (USGS colln. f12997), crinoid stems, bryozoans, Composita 4.9
Thickness of Curzon Limestone Member 7.9
Iowa Point Shale Member  
Claystone, medium-gray to olive-gray, silty, laminated, micaceous; weathers medium light gray; some shell fragments 1.4
Hartford Limestone Member  
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline; silty in upper half; weathers moderate yellowish brown; weathers to irregular blocks in upper 2.7 ft; single hard vertically jointed bed that has sharp edges and "cable markings" in lower 2.8 ft; upper contact gradational through about 0.1 ft of silty limestone; abundant fusulinids throughout (USGS colln. f12999); algae, crinoid stems, lophophyllidid corals, brachiopods, and possibly pelecypods in lower part 5.5
Siltstone, olive-gray, slightly sandy, laminated to platy; weathers light olive gray; crinoid columnals .2
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline, hard; weathers yellowish gray to moderate yellowish brown; forms resistant ledge at base of Topeka; abundant fusulinids (USGS colln. f12995), crinoid columnals, echinoderm debris, bryozoans, brachiopods, and a high-spired gastropod .5
Thickness of Hartford Limestone Member 6.2
Thickness of Topeka Limestone 31.9
Calhoun Shale  
Siltstone, olive-gray, sandy; upper contact sharp 1.2
Coal, brownish-black, hard, brittle, hackly .2
Clay, olive-gray; structureless .1
Siltstone, medium-gray to olive-gray, sandy, laminated to platy, micaceous; weathers yellowish gray to light olive gray; base not exposed 4.0+
Thickness of exposed Calhoun Shale 5.5

7. Howard Limestone and upper part of the Severy Shale

[Along the Kansas Turnpike and in the bank of Shunganunga Creek in the NE SE sec. 26, T. 12 S., R. 15 E., Shawnee County]

Howard Limestone feet
Utopia Limestone Member  
Limestone, light-olive-gray, hard; weathers light olive gray with dark-yellowish-orange stains; very abundant fusulinids; some crinoid columnals and brachiopods 1.4
Limestone, light-olive-gray; irregular thin beds; weathers light olive gray with dark-yellowish-orange stains; very abundant fenestrate bryozoans, crinoid columnals, echinoid spines, and brachiopods .9
Siltstone, pale-yellowish-brown to light-olive gray, laminated to platy; weathers yellowish gray with pale-brown tint; medium-dark-gray siltstone laminae on bedding planes; olive-gray coarse-grained siltstone lenses as much as 0.13 ft thick; ostracodes very abundant in dark siltstone laminae and lenses; small pelecypods, fine shell fragments, carbonaceous material 1.3
Limestone, light-brownish-gray to light-olive-gray, slightly sandy, thin-bedded; weathers to thin yellowish-gray to pale-yellowish-orange nodular beds; very abundant Osagia, abundant crinoid columnals, brachiopods, and pelecypods 2.5
Thickness of Utopia Limestone Member 6.1
Winzeler Shale Member  
Siltstone, light-olive-gray, sandy, laminated to platy; weathers yellowish gray; ferruginous specks that weather moderate yellowish brown; fenestrate and ramose bryozoans and brachiopods in basal part 3.4
Limestone, medium-light-gray, thin-bedded, hard, dense; weathers moderate yellowish brown; crinoid columnals, brachiopods 1.0
Siltstone, yellowish-gray to light-gray, finely sandy, laminated .2
Thickness of Winzeler Shale Member 4.6
Church Limestone Member  
Limestone, medium-light-gray, hard, dense, hackly; weathers to single moderate-yellowish-brown bed; abundant crinoid columnals and brachiopods 2.2
Aarde Shale Member  
Siltstone, dark-gray, slightly sandy, laminated to platy; weathers medium gray; brachiopods 2.4
Coal (Nodaway), black, laminated to platy; weathers to blocky fragments; dark-gray to grayish-black fissile siltstone in lower 0.2 ft 1.4
Thickness of Aarde Shale Member 3.8
Thickness of Howard Limestone 16.7
Severy Shale  
Clay, medium-dark-gray, sandy, plastic; weathers medium light gray; dusky-yellow sandstone specks; carbonaceous material just below overlying coal bed 0.7
Sandstone, very light olive gray to yellowish-gray; medium dark gray in upper part; fine grained, platy to thin bedded, micaceous; weathers pale yellowish brown, mottled with moderate yellowish brown; abundant pyrite nodules; a few vertical joints as much as 0.07 ft wide filled with harder sandstone; base not exposed 13.7
Thickness of exposed Severy Shale 14.4

8. Lower part of the White Cloud Shale Member of the Scranton Shale down into the uppermost part of the Severy Shale

[In railroad cut and bluff In the SW NW sec. 27, T. 11, S., R. 15 E., Shawnee County]

Scranton Shale feet
White Claud Shale Member  
Sandstone, light-gray to very light olive gray, fine-grained, quartzose, calcareous, slightly crossbedded; layers 0.01-0.05 ft thick; abundant mica and carbonaceous material in soft basal 0.5 ft; crops out in ledges as much as 5.5 ft thick in bluff; only lower part measured 21.0+
Siltstone and sandstone (channel); olive-gray finely sandy siltstone layers less than 0.01-0.04 ft thick; siltstone weathers light olive gray; interbeds of very light olive gray to light-yellowish-brown very fine grained silty sandstone in layers ranging in thickness from less than 0.01 ft to more than 0.5 ft; many very small chips of mudstone alongbedding planes; minute pyrite specks in sandstone; crops out in lower part of bluff 15.0
Limestone, light-olive-gray, finely sandy, micaceous, conglomeratic; subangular to subrounded pebbles generally less than 0.1 ft in diameter, but same range in diameter from 0.02--0.2 ft of hard compact very finely crystalline limestone that weathers olive gray to moderate yellowish brown; abundant pyrite and carbonized plant material; coal stringer 0.01 ft thick locally at or near base; conglomerate absent in places at base of channel 0-0.8
Thickness of exposed White Cloud Shale Member 36.0-36.8
Thickness of exposed Scranton Shale 36.0-36.8
Disconformity  
Howard Limestone  
Utopia Limestone Member  
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline, silty, very thin bedded; weathers moderate yellowish brown and platy at top; upper surface eroded; Osagia, crinoid columnals; small algal(?)-encrusted shells of brachio-pods and pelecypods; forms (with the overlying conglomeratic limestone) prominent ledge in bluff 0.9-2.0
Siltstone, medium dark-gray to olive-gray; clayey, laminated; weathers olive gray; some carbonaceous material and fine shell fragments .2
Limestone, olive-gray, very finely crystalline, silty; Osagia, crinoid columnals, fine shell fragments .1
Thickness of Utopia Limestone Member 1.2-2.3
Winzeler Shale Member  
Claystone, medium-dark-gray, silty, laminated; weathers light olive gray to olive gray 1.4
Church Limestone Member  
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline, hard, compact; weathers to vertically jointed moderate-yellowish-brown ledge; platy in upper 0.2 ft; abundant crinoid columnals, ramose and fenestrate bryozoans, and brachiopods 2.1
Aarde Shale Member  
Claystone, light-olive-gray, silty, platy; weathers light olive gray, partly mottled with light olive brown; a few very small black carbonaceous or phosphate specks; abundant shell fragments 1.7
Claystone, dark-gray, slightly silty; laminated to platy; weathers to dark-olive-gray fissile fragments; few Lingula?; visible dark band in railroad cut .2
Claystone, light-olive-gray, very calcareous; a few clayey limestone lenses; very abundant brachiopods and abundant bryozoans 2.4
E. L. Yochelson (written commun., 1960) reported on the the following forms:
Small foraminifers, undet. (USGS colln. f12981)
Horn coral, indet. (juvenile) Crinoid stem, pieces
Marginifera cf. M. wabashensis (Norwood and Pratten)
Composita subtilita (Hall)
Crurithyris planoconvexa (Shumard)
Hustedia mormoni (Marcou) 		 
Coal (Nodaway), black, hackly, glistening; principally light-brownish-gray carbonaceous siltstone containing coal stringers as much as 0.05 ft thick in upper 0.17 ft; mostly grayish-black carbonaceous claystone containing coal stringers in lower 0.4 ft; very thin light-yellow jarosite streaks throughout 1.4
Thickness of Aarde Shale Member 5.7
Thickness of Howard Limestone 10.4-11.5
Severy Shale  
Claystone, light-olive-gray; fine carbonaceous material fills vertical fractures 0.2
Claystone and siltstone; olive-gray silty laminated claystone interbedded with very light olive gray very finely sandy micaceous siltstone laminae; outcrop weathers light olive gray, streaked by moderate yellowish brown; very small pyritic inclusions that weather moderate yellowish brown; finely disseminated carbonaceous material; base not exposed 5.0+
Thickness of exposed Severy Shale 5.2

9. Upper part at the Silver Lake Shale Member down into the upper part at the White Cloud(?) Shale Member ot the Scranton Shale

[Along the Kansas Turnpike In the SE SE sec. 4, T. 13 S., R. 15 E., Shawnee County]

Scranton Shale feet
Silver Lake Shale Member  
Limestone, silty, thin-bedded; weathers moderate yellowish brown. Unit not measured.  
Siltstone, medium-light-gray to light-olive-gray, platy; weathers light olive gray to moderate yellowish brown 8.8
Claystone, medium-dark-gray, laminated to platy 10.8
Thickness of exposed Silver Lake Shale Member 10.6
Rulo Limestone Member  
Limestone, medium-gray, very fine grained; very argillaceous especially in basal and uppermost parts; hard slightly concretionary limestone layer 0.7 ft thick about 0.15 ft above base; abundant crinoid columnals, ramose and fenestrate bryozoans, and brachiopods 1.4
Cedar Vale Shale Member  
Claystone, medium-dark-gray, laminated to platy; grades upward into Rulo 0.6
Coal (deeply weathered) (Elmo), black; grayish-black laminated claystone 0.05 ft thick in the middle .3
Claystone, medium-gray; in part stained yellowish brown; bedding indistinct 1.0
Siltstone, medium-light-gray, very finely sandy, laminated to platy, micaceous 4.7
Sandstone, light-gray, very fine grained, platy to very thin bedded; weathers olive gray to olive brown; very silty in upper 1.5 ft 1.8
Siltstone, medium-gray, clayey, laminated to platy, micaceous; weathers olive gray to yellowish brown; grades into overlying sandstone 2.1
Claystone, medium-dark-gray, laminated; weathers olive brown; abundant crinoid columnals and pelecypods .2
Limestone, brownish-gray, fine-grained, argillaceous; medium-dark-gray claystone pebbles and stringers as much as 0.01 ft thick; abundant fossile fragments .4
Siltstone, very thin bedded, very calcareous, soft; weathers to pale-yellowish-brown to moderate-yellowish-brown cellular blocks; abundant very thin calcite stringers 1.2
Claystone, medium-gray to olive-gray, silty, platy to very thin bedded; weathers medium light gray to light olive gray; upper contact sharp, even 12.8
Siltstone, medium-light-gray, micaceous, soft; weathers medium brownish gray to olive brown .5
Siltstone, medium-light-gray; weathers moderate yellowish brown; some small brown-weathering pyritic siltstone masses .3
Siltstone, medium-light-gray, micaceous; weathers medium brownish gray to olive brown .2
Siltstone, medium-light-gray, very calcareous; weathers to single bed of moderate-yellowish-brown hard round masses 1.5
Siltstone, medium-light-gray, micaceous; calcareous in upper 1.5 ft ; weathers brownish gray to olive brown; much iron stain in upper 1.5 ft 2.1
Claystone; weathers olive gray 1.5
Thickness of Cedar Vale Shale Member 31.2
Happy Hollow(?) Limestone Member  
Limestone, brownish-gray, very fine grained, very argillaceous; weathers to rough pitted moderate-yellowish-brown cobbles; abundant ferruginous limestone nodules as much as 0.1 ft thick; abundant crinoid columnals, bryozoans, pelecypods, and unidentified spines; forms inconspicuous bed 0.5
White Cloud(?) Shale Member  
Siltstone, medium-gray to medium-dark-gray, laminated to very thin bedded; weathers light olive gray to moderate yellowish brown; claystone interbeds of same color; abundant siltstone chips and plates on weathered outcrop; base not exposed 5.5+
Thickness of exposed Scranton Shale 58.2

10. Basal part of Auburn Shale down into the Silver Lake Shale Member of the Soranton Shale

[Along the Kansas Turnpike in the SW SE sec. 34, T. 12 S., R. 15 E., Shawnee County]

Auburn Shale feet
Claystone, laminated; weathers olive gray to olive brown; small cellular masses of light-gray limestone; top not exposed 2.0+
Bern Limestone  
Wakarusa Limestone Member  
Limestone, medium-gray, very fine grained, slightly argillaceous, thin- to medium-bedded; weathers olive gray to moderate yellowish brown; weathers to rubbly plates in upper 0.2 ft; abundant fusulinids (especiatly in upper part) and Osagia?; forms prominent ledge; USGS fossil loc. 19457-PC (f12975) 2.4
Claystone, olive-gray, platy, calcareous; crinoid columnals, brachiopods .7
Limestone, medium-gray to brownish-gray, very fine grained; weathers pale yellowish brown to moderate yellowish brown; abundant Osagia, fusulinids, and crinoid columnals .7
Thickness of Wakarusa Limestone Member 3.8
Soldier Creek Shale Member  
Claystone, medium-gray; weathers olive gray; abundant limonitic spots and streaks that weather moderate yellowish brown 2.8
Limestone, medium-light-gray, very fine grained, very argillaceous; weathers light gray to pale yellowish brown; weathers to rubbly slope 2.2
Claystone, medium-gray, calcareous; weathers olive gray; scattered medium-light-gray argillaceous limestone beds as much as 0.1 ft thick 1.4
Limestone, medium-light-gray to medium-gray, very fine grained, very argillaceous, very thin to thin-bedded; weathers light olive gray; interbedded with medium-gray claystone layers, especially in upper part; scattered pyritic inclusions 0.01 ft in diameter 1.9
Claystone, medium-dark-gray to dark-gray, laminated to platy; a few Lingula? and other brachiopods at base; pectinoid pelecypods in upper half 1.8
Thickness of Soldier Creek Shale Member 10.1
Burlingame Limestone Member  
Limestone, medium-light-gray, very fine grained, thin- to medium-bedded; argillaceous in lower 0.2 ft; weathers pale yellowish brown; many Osagia; E. L. Yochelson (written commun. 1000) reported abundant fusulinids (USGS colln. fl2976), crinoid stems, rhomboporoid bryozoans, Derbyia crassa (Meek and Hayden), Enteletes?; Chonetes granulifer Owen, Linoproductus, Neospirifer dunbari R. H. King, and Composita subtilita (Hall); forms prominent ledge 2.1
Thickness of the Bern Limestone 16.0
Scranton Shale  
Silver Lake Shale Member  
Claystone, medium-gray to medium-dark-gray; very small limestone grains in upper half; silty in lower half; thin medium-gray limestone lenses in upper 0.5 ft; upper contact sharp, undulating; brachiopod fragments in upper 0.5 ft 2.3
Siltstone, medium-light-gray, very sandy .9
Sandstone, medium-light-gray, very fine grained, silty, very thin to thin-bedded, soft, micaceous; weathers light gray to moderate yellowish brown; lower 1 ft poorly exposed; forms ledge elsewhere along outcrop 3.0
Siltstone, medium-light-gray, sandy, very thin to thin-bedded, very calcareous; in part ripple marked; weathers light gray mottled with grayish red 2.0
Sandstone, medium-light-gray, very fine grained, very thin to thin-bedded, very calcareous; weathers to hard irregular beds that are light gray mottled with grayish red; scattered very small pyritic inclusions; grades into overlying siltstone; abundant fucoidal marks on bedding planes; scattered bryozoans and pelecypods 3.5
Siltstone, medium-gray, clayey, laminated to platy, micaceous; olive-gray calcareous siltstone 0.05 ft thick in the middle .6
Limestone, medium-gray, very fine grained, very silty to very finely sandy, pyritic; weathers olive brown to reddish brown; basal contact irregular; very abundant pelecypods .1
Claystone, medium-dark-gray, silty, laminated; interbedded with some medium-light-gray siltstone 1.2
Siltstone, medium-light-gray to medium-gray, laminated to platy, micaceous; interbedded with medium-dark-gray silty claystone; finely sandy in upper half; abundant oval pyrite nodules as much as 0.4 ft long and 0.07 ft thick; some carbonaceous material on bedding planes 4.0
Claystone, silty, laminated to platy; weathers olive gray; a few very thin limonitic siltstone beds; pyritic siltstone concretions as much as 0.06 ft long and 0.00 ft thick; base not exposed 1.5
Thickness of exposed Silver Lake Shale Member 19.1
Thickness of exposed Scranton Shale 19.1

11. Bern Limestone

[Along U.S. Highway 75 In the SE SE sec. 31., T. 9 S., R. 16 E., and the NE NE sec. 6, T. 10 S., R. 16 E., Jackson and Shawnee Counties]

Bern Limestone feet
Wakarusa Limestone Member  
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline, hard, compact; weathers to a mottled light-olive-gray and dark-yellowish-brown vertically jointed bed; small Cryptozoon-type algae; abundant large fusulinids, horn corals, crinoid columnals, and brachiopods 1.8
Claystone, light-olive-gray, silty, platy; weathers light olive gray; fossiliferous limestone lens 0.1 ft thick near the middle; crinoid columnals, shell fragments .4
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline, clayey; weathers light olive gray; two beds; abundant brachiopods; scattered fusulinids .2
Claystone, light-olive-gray, silty; very thin clayey limestone lenses ; abundant shell fragments .2
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline; weathers light olive brown to light olive gray; abundant crinoid columnals, bryozoans, and brachiopods 0.4
Thickness of Wakarusa Limestone Member 3.0
Soldier Creek Shale Member  
Claystone, olive-gray, slightly silty, platy; weathers light olive gray mottled with light olive brown; abundant pyritic limestone inclusions less than 0.01 ft in diameter that weather moderate yellowish brown; lower half not exposed 2.6
Burlingame Limestone Member  
Limestone, pale-yellowish-orange, very fine grained, argillaceous; weathers to pale-yellowish-orange bed ; upper and lower contacts uneven, gradational 0.7
Limestone, pale-yellowish-brown to light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline, hard, compact, brecciated; thin to medium irregular beds; a few thick beds; weathers pale yellowish orange in upper part; weathers light olive gray in rest of unit; lower evntact irregular, gradational; abundant large fusulinids, crinoid columnals, bryoroans, and brachiopods in upper 1 ft; fossils throughout rest of unit are sparse--primarily Osagia and brachiopods 9.8
Claystone, medium-light-gray, platy calcareous; weathers yellowish gray; lower contact uneven, gradational; brachiopods 0.8
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline, hard; weathers to pale-yellowish-brown bed; lower contact uneven; Osagia, crinoid stems, ramose and fenestrate bryozoans, brachiopods, pelecypods, gastropods .5
Thickness of Burlingame Limestone Member 11.8
Thickness of Bern Limestone 17.4

12. Tarkio Limestone Member of the Zeandale Limestone down into the Cedar Vale(?) Shale Member of the Scranton Shale

[Along road In the SW SE and on south line of the SW sec. 19, T. 9 S., R. 16 E., Jackson County]

Till feet
Zeandale Limestone  
Tarkio Limestone Member  
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very fine grained, slightly clayey, thin-bedded; abundant large fusulinids and crinoid stems; only lower part exposed; USGS colln. f12991 1.6+
Willard Shale  
Claystone, light-olive-gray, silty 2.5
Sandstone, light-yellowish-gray to light-olive-gray, very fine grained, silty, micaceous, soft; weathers light olive mottled with moderate yellowish brown 6.0
Claystone, silty; weathers mottled light olive gray to light olive brown; light-olive-gray very finely sandy micaceous siltstone interbeds as much as 0.06 ft thick; siltstone (more abundant in upper part) grades into overlying sandstone 14.0
Covered interval 18.6
Thickness of Willard Shale 41.1
Emporia Limestone  
Elmont Limestone Member  
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very fine grained, hard, compact, hackly; forms single vertically jainted bed; scattered small fusulinids; many small brachiapads 1.0
Limestone, medium-gray, very fine grained, thin-bedded, hard, campact; weathers light brownish gray to light olive gray; hackly to subconchoidal fracture; light-olive-gray and dark-gray dense angular limestone fragments less than 0.03 ft in diameter in upper 0.7 ft; dark-brown ostracades visible 1.2
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline, argillaceous; weathers to small rounded light-olive-gray to light-yellowish-gray blocks; abundant light-yellowish-brown calcite inclusions; fossils not identifiable 1.3
Limestone, medium-gray, very finely crystalline; small angular light-olive-gray clayey limestone inclusions .2
Limestone, light-yellowish-brown, finely crystalline, very thin to thin-bedded; weathers moderate yellowish brown; granular texture an weathered surface; upper contact slightly uneven; abundant fossils, mastly as fine fragments; lamelIar algae, fenestrate bryozoans, pelecypods .7
Thickness of Elmont Limestone Member 4.4
Harveyville Shale Member  
Claystone, light-olive-gray, silty; weathers to light-olive-gray blocky to subconchaidal fragments; scattered irregular oval nodules 0.08-0.15 ft long and 0.05-0.08 ft thick af very light gray to very light olive gray finely crystalline limestone 10.5
Reading Limestone Member  
Limestone, medium-gray, finely crystalline, hard; beds 0.6 ft thick; weathers maderate yellowish brown; capped by argillaceaus limestone layer 0.35 ft thick that weathers mottled light olive gray and dark yellowish arange; limestone layer forms step set slightly back from outcrap face; upper and lower contact sharp, even; scattered light-red barite inclusions less than 0.01 ft in diameter; abundant large crinoid stems in relief; many brachiopods 2.4
Fossils fram the Reading, reparted an by E. L. Yochelson (written commun. 1960), includes fusulinids (probably USGS colln. f12956A), a laphophyllidid coral, crinoid stem, rhomboparaid bryozaan, and Echinoconchus moorei Dunbar and Condra.  
Thickness af Emporia Limestone 17.3
Auburn Shale  
Claystone; light-olive-gray in lower part to medium-light-gray in upper part; slightly silty; weathers to light-olive-gray blocky fragments; light-olive-gray to light-yellowish-gray clayey limestone in many irregular beds 0.02-0.09 ft thick; limestone weathers to hard fragments; limestone more abundant in upper part; claystone and limestone beds fossiliferous; USGS fossil loc. 19456--PC 10.9
Siltstone, dark-gray, hard, finely laminated to platy; weathers to medium-dark-gray ledge; very abundant ostracodes; a few Lingula? .9
Claystone, light-olive-gray, slightly calcareous; weathers light yellowish gray; forms conspicuous light-colored outcrop 1.9
Covered interval 11.2
Claystone, light-olive-gray, silty; weathers to light-olive-gray blocky to subconchoidal fragments; brownish-gray stain on bedding planes and joints 2.2
Thickness of Auburn Shale 27.1
Bern Limestone  
Wakarusa Limestone Member  
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline, medium-bedded, hard; weathers moderate yellowish brown; weathers light yellowish brown and is more resistant in upper 1.5 ft; scattered pyritic inclusions generally 0.02-0.07 ft in diameter (some as much as 0.2 ft) that weather dark brown; inclusions weather out of upper surface and leave pits; abundant fusulinids (USGS colln. f12990); horn corals, crinoid stems, fenestrate bryozoans, brachiopods, pelecypods; a possible cephalopod 3.1
Soldier Creek Shale Member  
Claystone, light-olive-gray; weathers light olive gray, light greenish gray, and light olive brown; very abundant pelecypods and gastropods 0.6-1.4
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline, silty, medium-bedded, coquinoidal; weathers light olive gray to light yellowish gray; scattered medium-dark-gray dense subrounded limestone pebbles 0.02--0.07 ft long; upper contact very irregular; very abundant pelecypods and gastropods; some Osagia 1.6
Claystone, light-greenish-gray; weathers mottled light olive gray and light olive brown; small calcareous claystone inclusions that weather light yellowish gray; partly covered 1.3
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline, clayey, compact; beds 0.1-0.2 ft thick; weathers light yellowish brown to moderate yellowish brown; crinoid columnals, brachiopods, spines, pelecypods 1.0
Claystone, light-greenish-gray; weathers light greenish gray to light olive gray with light-olive-brown specks 2.1
Thickness of Soldier Creek Shale Member 6.6-7.4
Burlingame Limestone Member  
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline, hard, compact, medium- to thick-bedded; brecciated in upper half; weathers dark yellowish orange to moderate yellowish brown; irregular pattern of calcite-filled joints in upper part; basal contact sharp, slightly uneven; fossils, including small fusulinids, crinoid stems, ramose bryo-zoans, and brachiopods are not readily evident; forms prominent ledge 5.4
Thickness of Bern Limestone 15.1-15.9
Scranton Shale  
Silver Lake Shale Member  
Claystone, light-olive-gray, calcareous, platy; light-olive-gray finely crystalline irregular limestone lenses as much as 0.07 ft thick containing Osagia, crinoid columnals, and brachiopod spines in upper 0.8 ft; clayey nonfossiliferous limestone beds less than 0.07 ft thick that weather dark yellowish gray in lower half 3.8
Limestone, light-gray to very light olive gray, finely crystalline, silty; irregular beds 0.02-0.07 ft thick; weathers pale yellowish brown to moderate yellowish brown; interbedded with irregular light-olive-gray calcareous silty claystone layers as much as 0.03 ft thick; a few medium-gray dense limestone beds as much as 0.1 ft thick; abundant light-gray secondary calcite on bedding planes and joints 5.8
Claystone, light-olive-gray, slightly silty, platy; scatttered oval light-olive-gray hard dense fossiliferous limestone concretions as much as 0.33 ft thick and 2.5 ft long that weather pale yellowish brown; USGS fossil loc. 19455--PC 9.1
Thickness of Silver Lake Shale Member 18.7
Rulo(?) Limestone Member  
Limestone, medium-gray to olive-gray, very finely crystalline, silty, hard, compact, pyritic; in part concretionary; weathers light olive gray to light olive brown; poorly formed cone-in-cone structures at top of bed. Concretions, 0.45 ft thick and 1.4-2 ft long, have fractures filled with light-gray and dark-brown calcite in their outer 0.1 ft; crinoid stems and Linoproductus and other brachiopods are present on exterior of concretions 0.2-0.4
Cedar Vale(?) Shale Member  
Claystone, light-olive-gray, silty, laminated to platy; weathers to light-olive-gray blocky fragments; inter-bedded with light-olive-brown sandy micaceous siltstone layers less than 0.02 ft thick that weather to hard light-yellowish-orange to pale-yellowish-brown fragments; carbonized plant leaves and stems well preserved on bedding planes 7.0+
Thickness of exposed Scranton Shale 25.9-26.1

13. Pillsbury Shale down to the base of the Emporia Limestone

[In stream bank and along road In the NW SE and SW SE sec. 21, T. 9 S., R. 15 E., Jackson County]

Pillsbury Shale feet
Claystone (partly covered), light-olive-gray; upper part not present 9.0
Zeandale Limestone  
Maple Hill Limestone Member  
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline, thin-bedded, hard; weathers light olive gray mottled with moderate yellowish brown and dark brown, especially on upper surface; very abundant small fusulinids (USGS colIn. f12971); abundant crinoid columnals, echinoid plates and brachiopods; forms ledge 2.4
Wamego Shale Member  
Covered interval 11.4
Limestone, light-olive-gray, clayey .2
Claystone, light-olive-gray, platy; many flat limestone inclusions less than 0.01 ft long .6
Thickness of Wamego Shale Member 12.2
Tarkio Limestone Member  
Limestone, very finely crystalline, slightly clayey, thin-bedded, hard, compact; weathers light olive brown to pale yellowish brown; thin claystone parting possibly present near base; scattered large fusulinids; partly covered 1.8
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline, hard, compact; weathers light olive gray to light yellowish gray; very abundant fusulinids 1.7
Thickness of Tarkio Limestone Member 3.5
Thickness of Zeandale Limestone 18.1
Willard Shale  
Sandstone, very fine grained, micaceous; weathers pale yellowish brown to light olive gray; concentric-weathering ferruginous sandstone concretions as much as 0.6 ft long; much iron stain on bedding planes; upper contact poorly exposed 9.6
Claystone, light-olive-gray, silty, platy; interbedded with platy very finely sandy siltstone beds; claystone and siltstone weather light olive brown; siltstone shows "pencil" weathering; scattered round siltstone pellets as much as 0.02 ft in diameter; outcrop broken by nearly vertical joints as much as 0.5 ft wide; grades upward into sandstone 15.0
Mostly covered interval; light-olive-gray slightly silty claystone in lower 2 ft; crinoid columnals 22.8
Thickness of Willard Shale 47.4
Emporia Limestone  
Elmont Limestone Member  
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline, hard, compact; single vertically jointed bed; very thin layers of grayish-black clayey limestone in upper 0.1 ft; reddish-brown fossil fragments; abundant small fusulinids and brachiopods 0.8
Limestone, light-brownish-gray, very finely crystalline, conglomeratic; beds 0.03-1.5 ft thick; light-olive-gray to medium-dark-gray subangular to subrounded dense limestone pebbles generally less than 0.03 ft in diameter (some as much as 0.15 ft); much finely comminuted shell hash; probably pelecypods 1.8
Claystone, light-olive-gray to light-greenish-gray, stlty, blocky .2
Limestone, light-brownish-gray, very finely crystalline, hard, compact; weathers to single light-olive-gray bed; very thin film of light-olive-gray claystone on bedding planes; a few dark-gray subrounded limestone pellets less than 0.01 ft in diameter; irregularly spaced layers of abundant fossil fragments; abundant pelecypods .5
Fossils from the Elmont, reported on by E. L. Yochelson (written commun., 1960), include algae? (pelletal or "oatmeal"), Myalina (Orthomyalina) sp. indet., and Septimyalina? sp. indet.  
Thickness of Elmont Limestone Member 3.3
Harveyville Shale Member  
Claystone, light-olive-gray, silty, blocky; abundant flat light-olive-brown limestone nodules less than 0.01 ft long; some fossil fragments in upper part; partly covered 3.8
Covered interval 10.0
Claystone, light-olive-gray .6
Thickness of Harveyville Shale Member 14.4
Reading Limestone Member  
Limestone, medium-gray, very finely crystalline, hard, compact; weathers moderate yellowish brown; upper bed 0.4 ft thick; middle bed 1.35 ft thick; lower bed 0.85 ft thick; beds weather to rectangular plates 0.1-0.2 ft thick; many large fusulinids, crinoid columnals, and brachiopods 2.6
Thickness of Emporia Limestone 20.3

14. Dry Shale Member of the Stotler Limestone down into the Tarkio Limestone Member of the Zeandale Limestone

[In streambank and along road on the east line of the SE sec. 22, T. 9 S., R. 15 E., Jackson County]

Soil feet
Stotler Limestone  
Dry Shale Member  
Claystone, light-olive-gray, platy; weathers light olive gray mottled with light olive brown; abundant light-olive-gray dense limestone nodules as much as 1.0 ft long and 0.5 ft thick that weather light olive brown 1.8+
Dover Limestone Member  
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline, argillaceous, hard, compact; weathers light olive gray with brown tint interbedded with calcareous fossiliferous claystone in lower 0.55 ft; very abundant large fusulinids; abundant Cryptozoon-type algae, crinoid stems, and brachiopods; forms vertically jointed ledge that weathers to rubbly blocks and plates 2.4
E. L. Yochelson (written commun. 1960) reported on the following fossil forms from the Dover:
Algae-Cryptozoon (USGS colIn. f12967)
Small foraminifers, undet. (USGS colIn. f12967)
Fusulinids, undet. (abundant) (USGS colIn. f12967)
Crinoid stems
Echinoid spines
Marginifera cf. M. histricula Dunbar and Condra
Hustedia sp. indet. 		 
Thickness of exposed Stotler Limestone 4.2
Pillsbury Shale  
Claystone, light-olive-gray, silty; light-olive-gray clayey siltstone interbeds less than 0.02 ft thick that weather light olive gray to moderate yellowish brown; iron stain on siltstone layers; thin light-olive-gray limestone lenses and scattered fusulinids, crinoid columnals, and small brachiopods in upper 0.65 ft; grades into overlying lilnestone 14.6
Claystone (partly covered), light-olive-gray, silty, platy 16.2
Thickness of exposed Pillsbury Shale 30.8
Lower part of the Pillsbury Shale and upper part of the Zeandale Limestone, undifferentiated  
Covered interval 15.5
Zeandale Limestone  
Wamego Shale Member  
Claystone, light-olive-gray, silty; weathers mottled light olive gray and light olive brown; ferruginous very thin bedded silty very fine grained sandstone layers as much as 0.3 ft thick that weather light olive brown; top not exposed 7.8
Tarkio Limestone Member  
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline, slightly clayey, thin- to medium-bedded, hard, compact; weathers light olive gray to pale yellowish-brown; fine joints and fractures filled with light-colored calcite give a brecciated appearance; scattered fusulinids in lower part; forms resistant layer that caps ledge 2.6
Claystone, light-olive-gray, slightly silty; platy; abundant light-yellowish-gray limestone inclusions less than 0.01 ft long; some fossil fragments .3
Limestone, light-olive-gray, very finely crystalline, thin-bedded; weathers light olive gray; very abundant large fusulinids (USGS colIn. f12968); base not exposed 1.5+
Thickness of exposed Tarkio Limestone Member 4.4
Thickness of exposed Zeandale Limestone 12.2

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Kansas Geological Survey, Geology
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