Ul D -Supply Paper No. 215 {A, Economic Geology, 96 B, Descriptive Geology, 118 M, General Hydrographic Investigations, 25 0, Underground waters, 71 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DiRBCTOB GEOLOGY MD WATER RESOURCES OF A PORTION OF THE MISSOURI RIVER VALLEY IN NORTH EASTERN NEBRASKA BY Gh. E. CONDRA WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OPPICE 1908 Monograph. ^/ Water-Supply Paper No. 215 {A, Economic Geology, 96 B, Descriptive Geology, 118 M, General Hydrographic Investigations, 25 0, Underground Waters, 71 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEORGP: OTIS SMITH, Dikkctok GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES OF A PORTION OF THE MISSOURI RIVER VALLEY IN NORTH EASTERN NEBRASKA BY Or, E. CONDRA WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 190 8 APR 6 1908 D. or 0, ^- COjSTTEI^TS. rage. lutrodiiction : 5 Topography f; Descriptive geology (j Stratigraphy (j Structure 8 Description of the rocks 8 Cretaceous system 8 Dakota sandstone 8 Benton group 10 Graneros shale n Greenhorn limestone H Carlile shale 12 Niobrara formation i;j Pierre shale in Tertiary system 18 Arikaree formation 18 Pliocene deposits 19 Quaternary system 20 Glacial drift 20 Loess 20 Alluvium 21 Dune sjind 22 Economic geologj' 22 Mineral resources 22 Brick clay - 22 Sand and gravel 22 Building stone 22 Cement rock Coal — o 14 Peat 24 Volcanic ash 24 Water resources 2r» General statement 2r» Surface waters .>r streams -}- Springs 2<; Underground waters 27 Shallow wells 27 Artesian wells 28 Artesian conditions 28 Chemical composition of artesian water 28 Pressure 2J) Temperature of artesian water 30 Construction and care of wells 30 Diminution in pressure and supply 31 3 4 CONTENTS. Kc-onoinic jjoolojry — (\>ntiiiued. Page. Water resources — Contiiiueil. Underground waters — Continued. Blowing wells 31 rollution of well waters ' 32 Water resources, by counties 32 Northern part of Holt County i 32 Boyd County 35 Knox County 39 Cedar County 45 Dixon County 50 Dakota County 54 Agricultural resources 55 Soils 55 Crops ^ 55 Stock raising and dairying 55 Timber • 5(5 Index 57 ILLUSTRATIONS. V Page. Plate I. Sketch map of Nebraska 6 Iir Geologic map of northeastern Nebraska In pocket. III.' Sections across northeastern Nebraska and adjacent regions. In pocket. IV.' A, Dakota sandstone on bank of Missouri River below mouth of Aowa Creek; B, Greenhorn limestone on Graneros shale northeast of Ponca, Nebr 10 \. A, Carlile clay overlain by Niobrara, northeast of James, Nebr.; B, Calcareous concretions in Carlile formation, west of Ver- milion Ferry, Nebr 12 VI. Characteristic fossils of Niobrara formation and Greenhorn limestone 14 VIL A, One of the Twin Buttes, Boyd County, Nebr. ; B, Knoll- kemper dam. Turner, Holt County, Nebr 18 VIII. A, Cement plant near Yankton, S. Dak. ; B, Niobrara forma- tion, just west of Niobrara, Nebr 24 IX. Map of northeastern Nebraska region, showing underground water conditions In pocket. X: Second artesian well at Lynch, Nebr 38 XI. A, Old well at Santee Agency, Nebr.; B. Lower dam on Bazile Creek, Knox County, Nebr 40 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES OF A PORTION OF THE MISSOURI RIVER VALLEY IN NORTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. BV G. E. COXDRA. liS^TRODLCTIO?^. The region considered in this report lies in northeastern Nebraska, south of Missouri River, and extends about 150 miles east and west and approximately 29 miles north and south. The total area is over 4,100 square miles, comprising Dakota, Cedar. Knox, and Boyd counties and the northern part of Holt County, as shown in PL I. The eastern part of the area was settled long ago. and the western counties are now rapidly filling up. The entire region has a fertile soil, and there is sufficient rainfall to insure crops in most seasons, especially where careful cultivation is practiced. Very little irriga- tion is needed, and a few short ditches constructed during excep- tionally dry years are not used at present. In 1903 no irrigation what- ever was employed. Stock raising is carried on extensively where the land is not farmed. There is an abundance of ground water throughout most of the area, yet at places in Boyd, Knox, and Holt counties there is difficulty in obtaining a sufficient supply of good well water for stock and domestic purposes. On this account considerable space is given in this report to ground water and shallow wells in those counties. Man}^ springs, some of them of good volume, are found in every county. Artesian wells are obtained on the Missouri bottom and ad- jacent lowlands from eastern Boyd to the northeastern j^art of Dixon County. This report is a result of studies made in the field during the summer of 1003, under the direction of X. H. Darton. There was found to be much local interest in cement rock, coal, and the water conditions. Special trips were made into Dixon and Dakota coun- ties with Prof. J. E. Todd, who has furnished important suggestions as to the geologA^ and has supplied several sections. It was found nec- essary to determine the broader structural and stratigraphic relations of the Cretaceous formations, and, in order to do this, observations were continued into Iowa and South Dakota. G MISSOITRI VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Only about 250 square miles of the area have been topographic- ally surveyed and these are included in the P]lk Point quadrangle, which extends from South Dakota into Dixon and Dakota counties. Outside of that area altitudes were obtained from railroad levels and by the use of an aneroid barometer. TOPOGRAPHY. The principal topographic features of the region are the result of the erosive action of streams, but glacial action has modified the sur- face in some districts by changing the preglacial drainage and adding deposits of gravel, sand, bowlders, and clay, while the wind has modi- fied certain sandy surfaces into small areas of dunes. The altitude varies from over 2,100 feet on the table-lands of w^estern Holt and Boyd counties to about 1,100 feet on the lowdands of Dakota County. The Missouri River, wdiich is the principal stream, has eroded a trough, usually wdth steep slopes, to an average depth of 500 to 600 feet below the general upland level. The entire area slopes gradually downward from w^est to east, and more steeply northward from the high divides tow^ard Missouri River. While most of the area slopes and drains northw^ard toward that river, the drainage of small por- tions of Holt, Knox, Cedar, Dixon, and Dakota counties flows south- eastward and reaches the river farther south. DESCRIPTIVE GEOI.OGY. STRATIGRAPHY. Study of the local geology of a region affords information con- cerning the soil, aids in drilling artesian wells by indicating the thick- ness and character of the formations through wdiich the drill must pass, and is a guide to many natural resources wdiich may be advan- tageousl}^ developed. The formations in this area are all of sedimentary origin and be- long to the Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Quaternary systems. The Cre- taceous strata, w^hich are the lowest exposed, consist of beds wide in extent and nearly horizontal in position or with a slight dip to the west. They, are composed of clay, chalk, limestone, and sandstone, which were for the greater part marine accumulations of mud, minute calcareous shells, and sand. These formations outcrop extensively along Missouri River and other streams, as show^n in PL II (in pocket), and by well records their relations at other places are known. The total thickness of the Cretaceous beds in the w^estern part of Boyd County is thought to be about 1,400 feet. From records of deep bor- ings at Ponca and Sioux City it is knowm that the Carboniferous lime- stones also underlie the region, beginning at a depth of about 545 feet at Ponca, Nebr., and 335 feet at Sioux City, low^a. ii ii m ii; STRATIGRAPHY. / The following sections represent the succession at certain typical localities : Section hcJoic the moutfi of Aoira Creek, Diion County, yebr. Feet. Loess, extends 98 feet higher in slope; exposed 7-3G Glacial till 22 Greenhorn limestone : Limestone, slabby, with many remains of Inoccraniu.s luljiatiis 5§ Claj% dark, sandy, with some chalk 1 Limestone, slabby, containing Inoccrami 4 Limestone, blnish, chalky, weathers to a light color resembling Nio- brara chalk rock: contains some Inoccrami 9 Graneros shale : Clay, blnish and somewhat chalky above, dark below, contains iron pyrites concretions, and sulphate of iron as a powder 49* Clay, dark, at places carbonaceous above, usually sandy, containing concretions of iron pyrites and marcasite and rosettes of selenite__ 7 Dakota sandstone: Sandstone, light to rusty color, porous, and soft ; with root marks. Rusty iron concretions occur near the center and base. The beds thicken and dip westward 7-10 Clay, dark, contains irregular streaks of light-colored sand 2* Sandstone, nodular, contains rusty iron, limy at places J Shale and nodules, dark, very sandy near ravine 1 Sandstone, with layers of concretionary iron between beds 4^ Sandstone, rusty and dark, varying from sandstone to shale 5^-8 Sandstone, rusty, porous at 1,120 feet above sea level The beds show a steeper westward inclination near the mouth of Aowa Creek, beyond which they appear to rise again for a short distance. Combined section from Vermition Ferry to the Dixon-Cedar count}/ line. No. Feet. 7. Loess; thick on higher slopes. 6. Glacial drift; usually covered by loess 0-15 5. Niobrara chalk rock, light color, soft, rises in hills above, exposed in three banks !-.'» 4. Clay, dark, with some selenite crystals, sandy at places. 13 3. Sandstone and clay, varies from sandstone to plastic clay. Betls car- bonaceous at places 8 2. Clay, bluish or dark, plastic, covered with many selenite crystals. Con- tains two zones of calcareous concretions, one 03-f»5 feet and the other 55 feet above the river. In one bank a thin bed of rusty sand- stone is found 10 feet above the river 73 1. Shale, dark blue, chalky, containing Serpula, large, flat Inoccrami, Ostrea congesta, and Prionocyclus. Exposed above water .'5-t Altitude of top of No. 1, at ferry 1, 130 Altitude of base of No. 5 1,224 All below No. 5 are included in the Carlile shale of the Benton group. On the eroded upper surface of the Cretaceous lie sheets of sand and clay of Tertiary age, which are thickest and ino^t typically de- 8 MISSOURI VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. veloped in the western parts of Boyd and Plolt counties, and thin out in Knox and Cedar counties. The only portion of the Tertiary thus far identified here is the Arikaree formation and an unnamed forma- tion of Pliocene age. A more careful examination of the western part of the region may possibly show the presence of outliers of the AMiite Eiver formation below the Arikaree. Lying on the eroded surface of the Cretaceous and Tertiary forma- tions, oA'er wide areas, are the deposits of clay, sand, gravel, bowlders, loess, and alluvium of Quaternary age. STRUCTURE. Tn outcrops in northeastern Nebraska the rocks usually appear to lie horizontal, but they have a slight general inclination to the west or west-northwest, which becomes ver}^ low for some distance above the mouth of Xiobrara River. The principal structural features are shown on the cross sections PL III (in pocket). The westerly dip is indicated by the differences in altitude of the top of the Dakota sand- stone, which slopes from a height of 40 feet above the river level, or altitude of 1,160 feet, at Sioux City to a depth of 500 feet, or altitude of about 720 feet, at Xiobrara. This difference of 440 feet in 80 miles indicates an average dip of oj feet to the mile. The dip from Sioux City to Ponca, however, is slight, making the average dip from Ponca to Xiobrara about T feet to the mile. At Lynch, 23 miles west of Xio- brara, the altitude of the top of the formation is about 690 feet, which indicates a fall of only about 1 foot to the mile in that direction, while to the northwest, up the Missouri valley, there is a similar low dip. DESCRIPTION OF THE ROCKS. CRETACEOUS SYSTE:M. DAKOTA SANDSTONE. The Dakota sandstone is of considerable economic importance, fur- nishing artesian water, brick clay, fair building stone in places, and small amounts of a poor grade of lignite coal. It outcrops occasionally in bluffs in southeastern Dakota Count}^, Nebr., at Sioux City, Iowa, and along Big Sioux River in Iowa. In Xebraska the formation outcrops at intervals from the high hills southeast of Homer to a point northeast of Ponca, where it passes beneath the river level. It extends far to the northwest and the south- west under later formations and comes to the surface in the Black Hills and the Rocl^ Mountains. According to well records, its upper surface lies at a depth of 360 feet at Aten, 600 feet at Santee, 500 feet at Xiobrara, and TOO feet at Lynch. The formation is penetrated by wells at Ponca, Xebr., and Sioux City, Iowa, where in each case the thickness is thought to be between DESCRIPTION OF THE ROCKS. 9 300 and 400 feet. In the Ponca well, TOO feet deep, the base of the formation appears to be at an altitude of about 755 feet, while its upper surface, exposed in bluffs east of the town, rises to 1,135 feet, indicating a thickness of 380 feet ; but this estimate })robably is some- what too large. According to Professor Todd the mouth of the Sioux City well is 38 feet below the outcrops of the sandstone, whose altitude is 1,122 feet, and, as the bottom of this sandstone, according to the well record, is at an altitude of 825 feet, the thickness is 335. It is thouofht, hoAvever, that the beds observed near the mouth of the well are not at the top of the formation and that some higher strata have been removed by ero;-ion. The Dakota formation is composed largely of thick deposits of coarse friable sandstone, light buff to rusty in color, with interbedded clay beds of different colors, mostly blue, gray, and yellow. One thick bed of clay north of Sioux City overlies the massive cross- bedded sandstone which outcrops along the river banks in that vicinity. Numerous iron-oxide concretions abound in the clay, as do also thin beds of sandstone merging into irregular, sandy iron-oxide deposits of variable thickness. Lignite, in thin irregular beds, occurs in the ujDper part of the formation, and also at lower levels near Jackson and Homer. Mau}^ Avell-preserved leaves are found which have been studied and described by various paleontologists. The component beds of the Dakota formation in this region are not sufficiently continuous, extensive, nor distinctive to afford a basis for subdividing the formation into different horizons, yet in the outcrop area the following order has been observed, passing downward: (1) Porous sandstone Avith root marks, interstratified clays, and shale or lignite beds; (2) clay, thin sandstone, and concretionary iron- stone beds; (3) massive, cross-bedded sandstone with thin beds of clay. As the sandstones weather more slowly than the clay beds they often form bluffs (see PI. IV, ^1), which extend as a more or less con- tinuous escarpment from southeastern Dakota County to a point near Ponca. At cut banks along the river and near the mouths of a few ravines these bluffs form prominent points and buttresses. The topography varies somewhat, the massive sandstone giving sharp out- lines and the clay more gradual slopes. Loess and Graneros clay often slide down over these outcrops, concealing the beds. Section of Dakota .sandstone J miles southeast of Homer, \ehr. Feet. Thin beds of sandstone and clay, colored by iron IS Sandstone, massive, cross-bedded. These beds vary much in texture; within a few feet they may jrrade from sand into sandstone and even quartzite. The colors are light gray, rusty, and dark 19 10 MISSOURI VALLFA% NORTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Section o/ Dakota sandstone and overlying Joess at the quarry just northwest of Homer, Xebr. Feet. Loess at top of bluff -jo Clay, shaly and oxidized to a yellowish color 2 Sandstone, light colored, porous, massive, not cross-bedded 7 Clay, light colored, concretionary o Sandstone, much like No. 6 but with root marks in upper part 10 Clay, light colored, sandy, oxidized; yellowish at places, with hard layers of concretionary iron 1 to 12 inches thick 28 Clay, yellowish, with fewer iron concretions than in No. 3 5 Sandstone, light colored to rusty, massive, cross-bedded, interstratified with thin layers of clay 20 111 the Ashford well just west of Homer, the lowest bed of the above section was not penetrated at a level fully TO feet lower. This member of the Dakota formation rises high in the bluffs some G or 7 miles southeast of Homer. Section of Dakota sandstone and glacial clay in the quarry at Jackson, Dakota County, Xebr. Feet. Glacial clay with some sand 3 Sandstone, rusty i-1 Sandstone, light colored, loosely cemented 2 Sandstone, rusty to light colored, friable, in beds 2 to 8 inches thick with thin layers of light-colored clay between S Clay, sandy, light colored ^ Sandstone, light colored, friable 1^ Sandstone, clay or sand, varying; color rusty to light 3 Parts of the stone in this quarry are used for building purposes. Several good specimens of leaves were found here. According to the re2:>ort of the Avell drillers a thin bed of impure coal lies 30 feet below the lowest point in the quarry. Record of Mattison's tcell. X.E. i S.W. i sec. 20, T. 31 X., R. 6 E., southeast of Ionia, Xebr. Feet. Shaly limestone 0- 8 Chalk 8- V2 Dark shale 12- 45 Blue clay 45-105 Soft sandstone 105-277 Sand and gravel 277-302 Clay or shale 302-312 Soft sandstone 312^87 Gravel 487-517 BENTON GROUP. The Benton group lies between the Dakota and Niobrara formations and, as Mr. Darton has shown, is separable in this region into three distinct formations, which represent the Graneros shale, the Green- U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY .VATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 215 PL. IV A. DAKOTA SANDSTONE ON BANK OF MISSOURI RIVER BELOW MOUTH OF AOWA CREEK. /;. GREENHORN LIMESTONE ON GRANEROS SHALE NORTHEAST OF PONCA, NEBR. DESCRIPTION OF THE ROCKS. 11 horn limestone, and the Carlile formation of eastern Colorado and the Black Hills. Graneros shale. — The best exj^osiires of the (xraneros shale are in river bluffs below the mouth of the Aowa Creek, above Ponca Land- ing, and at the Bigley Ravine, near Ponca. The shale lies on the Dakota sandstone and is overlain by the Greenhorn limestone. It occurs high in the slopes in Dakota County, and dips gradually to the northwest, its base reaching the level of the river about 3 miles north of Ponca. The thickness in Dixon Count}^ is from 50 to 00 feet, while in the Black Hills it varies from 800 to 900 feet. Accord- ing to Mr. Burchard " it appears to thin out and disappear southeast of Homer, where the Greenhorn limestone lies very close to if not directly on the Dakota sandstone. It is composed principally of very dark gray to bluish-gray clay or soft shale which grades above and below into harder shale. The section at the mouth of Aowa Creek (p. 7) shows the usual relations. Greenhorn limestone. — This medial member of the Benton group lies from 50 to 00 feet above the Dakota sandstone and is 18 to 20 feet thick, not including a few feet of shaly transition beds above and below. The principal rock is fossiliferous limestone with an admix- ture of clay and some sand. The upper beds are slabby, highly fos- siliferous, and stained Avith iron, while the lower beds are more massive and chalky and contain a smaller number of large fossils. The formation is characterized b}^ very numerous casts of Inoceramns lahiatus (see PI. VI). This limestone was traced from high in the hills of southeastern Dakota County to the river level in the Ionia section northeast of Newcastle. PI. IV, B shows a characteristic outcrop of this limestone. These beds weather out like chalk and were formerly mistaken for the Nio- brara chalk rock, which, however, occurs at a higher level farther west. i^ection of Greenhorn limestone and (iftsoeiated beds in cut hank and .slide threr'- fourths mile nortlnce.sf of Ponca Landing, Xchr. Feet. Loess and till 80 Greenhorn limestone: Limestone, weathered, sandy; contains many casts of Inoccranius lahiatus 8-0 Limestone, bluish gray, massive, chalky 10 Graneros shale : Clay, bluish, stratified 20 Clay, dark or bluish, at places rusty 25-30 Shale, dark, quite hard 2 •Geology of Dakota County, Nebr. : Proc. Acad. Sci. of Sioux Citv. Iowa. 1008-4, vol. 1, p. 150. 1*2 MISSOURI VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Carlile shale. — This uppermost division of the Benton group begins to appear above the Greenhorn limestone in eastern Dixon County and thickens westward to 170 feet in northwestern Dixon County to over 200 feet at Niobrara, and to 500 to 700 feet in the Bhick Hills. In the eastern part of its outcrop area it erodes rapidly, forming sloj^es over whicli k^ess and Ghicial drift slide from above, concealing it at many points in the bluffs of Dixon County. The base of the forma- tion reaches the level of the river just west of the so-called Ionia Vol- cano, northwest of Newcastle. The upper surface is about 1^0 feet above the river level in sec. 28, T. 32, K. 4 E., 97 feet above at Ver- milion Ferry, 71 feet above northeast of St. James, 30 feet above north of St. Helena, and reaches the level of the river about \ miles beyond the last-named town. Recent slides northeast of Ponca ex- pose 8 to 12 feet of Carlile above Greenhorn limestone in the vicinity of the ferry. A well-marked line of contact with the Niobrara chalk above is shown in PI. V, .1. The formation is composed principally of dark-gray and bluish- gray stratified clays, with two zones of fossiliferous chalky shale. Sandstone beds of variable extent and character generally occur at different levels, but usually near the top. as just west of Vermilion Ferr}^. Large concretions of carbonate of lime are found above the middle of the formation. Drillers in penetrating this formation expe- rience difficulty with the hard concretions and sandstone and with the thin layers of iron pyrites which also often occur in it. Many fish- scales, a large, flat form of Inoceramus. Prionocyclus, Serpida. and Ostrea congest a are common fossils. A locality in northern Dixon County, in sec. 10, T. 31, R. 5 E., has received the name Ionia Volcano. It is simply a bluff of shale in which the oxidation of a large amount of iron pyrites often produces considerable heat, at times sufficient to give rise to steam and sulphur fumes, and even to cause slight baking of the shale. Two zones of concretions of carbonate of lime occur in the Carlile shale. The lower zone is a continuous one, and its concretions are large, lens-shaped forms, 2 to 8 feet long and 1 foot or more thick (PI. V, ^). This horizon continues at about 50 feet from the top of the formation from high in the slope in sec. 32. T. 32. R. 5 E., to a point between St. James and St. Helena, where the dip takes it down to the level of the Missouri. The upper zone consists of smaller concretions at a less continuous horizon 8 to 10 feet above the first. These concretions weather out and fall to the base of a sloj^e, where they * crack into irregular pieces. In many of them calcite and selenite crystals occur. While selenite crystals may be observed throughout the Graneros, Carlile, Niobrara, and Pierre, they are most abundant on slopes of the Carlile formation, especially at the Ionia Volcano or on other U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVFV WATER-SUPPLY PAPfR NO. 215 PL. V .1. CARLILE SHALE OVERLAIN BY NIOBRARA NORTHEAST OF JAMES, NEBR. B. CALCAREOUS CONCRETIONS IN CARLILE FORMATION WEST OF VERMILION FERRY, NEBR. DESCRIPTION OF THE ROCKS. 18 blutf.s ill that region, where they are coiiiiiioiily mistaken for mica. The}' vary in size from minute needles to li to 3 inches across. They originate near the surface from the weathering of the iron pyrites scattered through the clay, some of the products of which react with lime in solution in percolating waters, forming calcium sulphate which crystallizes as selenite. The usual belief that they were formed when the strata were deposited and that they occur in large numbers throughout the beds is therefore erroneous. Section of Carl He shale and associated formations at the Ionia Volcano, in northern Dixon County, Xebr. Feet. Ijoess and till 15-35 Clay (Carlile), dark, plastic. Contains sulphate of iron, epsom salts, selenite crystals, etc., over the surface. Sulphur dioxide fumes rise from the clay at one point 112 Shale, bluish 15 Limestone, slabby, with fish scales and Inoceramns hthiutus Is Altitude of river. 1,11S feet: of top of hill, 1.2()5 feet. The lowest bed is a part of the Greenhorn, while the overlying bluish shale is a transition to the base of the Carlile. It is promi- nently represented in a ravine below the old landing about 1 mile away. Professor Todd has noted the existence of a thin but very per- sistent layer of clay closely resembling bentonite near the middle of the Carlile formation. It varies from 1^ to 3 inches thick. At Vermilion Ferry it is about 10 feet above the river. At the Ionia Volcano it is about 100 feet above the top of the Greenhoi'n beds, and it is at same horizon in ravines in the SAV. J sec. 26, T. 31 N., R. 5 E., and in a shaft in the SW. i sec. 24 of the same township. It is sug- gested that it may originally have been a thin stratum of volcanic ash. NIOBRARA FORMATION. The Niobrara formation lies between the Carlile and the Pierre shales and is a conspicuous and characteristic feature of the region. It outcrops in the creek slopes of northwestern Dixon County, high in the river blurt's just west of Vermilion Ferry, and thence westward and northward along Missouri River and its tributaries to the great bend of that river in South Dakota. A thickness of about 130 feet remains in the hills northeast of St. James. Xebr., while westward at the margin of the Pierre shale the total thickness is over 200 feet. The easternmost points at which the formation is exposed or found in wells are in the SE. i SW. i sec. 32, T. 32 X., R. 5 E., and the W. \ sec. 6, T. 29 X., R. 5 E. The dip, which is westerly, is low from St. James to Xiobrara, beyond which the upper surface seems to be nearly level with perhaps a slight rise in the direction of Chamber- 14 MISSOURI VALLEY, KORTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. lain. S. Dak. The base of the formation is 97 feet above the river near Vermilion Ferry, 71 feet northeast of St. James, and 30 feet at St. Helena, a few miles beyond which it passes below the level of the river. At the cement works west of Yankton, S. Dak., the npper sur- face is fully 140 feet above the river surface, while the base lies a few feet below it. The formation is composed of lead-gray chalk rock, which weath- ers yellowish, Avith a variable admixture of clay and sand. Thin limestone beds composed of small Ostrea congesta^ found principally in the upper portion, are a characteristic feature (see PI. VI). In Cedar County and apparently- at Xiobrara, Knox County, the base of the formation is a sandy, hard limestone. The purer chalk beds vary from less than 1 inch to as much as G feet in thickness and merge into mixtures of chalk and clay in variable proportions. The upper surface is usually weathered, leaving a relative^ larger percentage of clav, iron, and sand than is found in the more massive beds below. In the latter there are nearty vertical joint planes intersecting each other at angles of about 90 degrees. Deeply decayed surfaces have gypsum plates in the joint and bedding planes, and at places selenite crvstals are scattered over the surface. The purer massive chalk is of fine grain, porous texture, low specific gravity, and gives a charac- teristic dead or hollow sound when struck with a hammer. Its eco- nomic value lies in its use for the manufacture of cement and for building stone. The chalk bluffs of the Missouri present a strikingly barren appear- ance and are usually of a conspicuous yellow color. The bluffs have a uniform height above the river for a distance of over 200 miles in Nebraska and South Dakota, but are notched by many small draws. The upper surface of the formation falls to Avithin 8 or 10 feet of- the river at Wheeler and Xieveen, S. Dak. For most of the distance, from a point 5 miles below Greenwood to Yankton, the Niobrara bluff's are prominent on one side of the ri^^er or the other. At a num- ber of places slight faults and flexures Avere observed; most of the latter occur at the mouths of small ravines and appear to be caused by the sAvelling of beds. The steeper slopes are often covered Avith splinters of chalk rock broken from the cliffs above. Section of Xiohrara limestone and (is-sociated fonnation.rtions bluish__ 40 Chalky beuilding purpo. 1-5 W CO CC W M OQ OQ 02 ! 5^ 0,/ O bC*^ M £ .-fl 9 « .2 g PI fl |H ^^ ^ c3 c3 ^-1 >. o'o'o'o'- I^P-icQMa! g fl 2 J, be --2 ■■a ^3 QCOO §i? 020 -d »h' "O : : : ; : : : : :i : c8 . . . . bJj .,^ T3 T! T3T3 l-o ■ . : : :'o 1 ■■ \ i-^ P -§ >- T ^ >s il i i iiil 11 bc : . .^ o-oococos;eo . . .coco CO . . .CO . . . ^i-ir-ic^c^coe^.-iese^-( ,-H ■ ,-1 CO J~^ ^ rr\ CO ^ -^^ 5 CO CO CO ^ ^5 ;^ ' . , . . CO 1 M M MOT CC CO en CQ 02 CO MJ CO CO 03 cc CO CC 02 OQ CC CO CC !Z; JZI CO :8gS^ • . . ^ . !Zo2m\Oa ^vjoi\'t, NEBR BuiLT OF QUARTZiTE. WATER RESOURCES, BY COUNTIES. 41 piped some 350 yards to a hydrant at the house ; the water, tempera- ture 55^° F., issues from the base of coarse sand at the clay contact, at an altitude of about 1,525 feet, or 35 feet above the hydrant. A notably hea\y spring is located IJ miles southeast of Center. A small spring near the creek at the lower Bazile mill yields a good quality of drinking water; the flow is 7 gallons per minute, and the temperature 54J°. Several springs are found along the Frankforter Creek; one at Weigand affords a good supply of water for a public watering place, stock, and house use. Shallow wells. — North of Niobrara and in the Ponca basin the shallow-water conditions are very variable; the best supplies are obtained from irregular areas of sand and gravel on the divides and from the flood-plain deposits. In the southwestern part of the county water is derived from Tertiary sands in wells from 100 to 200 feet deep. In the central, southern, and eastern portions good water is obtained in gravel, which often lies 175 feet deep on high ridges and table lands, and 20 to 35 feet in the old northwest-southeast valley extending from Verdigris Creek past Winnetoon and Creighton to the southeast. At a few places Tertiary sands rise above the gravel beds and afford a supply at less depths. Many blowing wells are found in Tps. 29 and 30, Rs. 2, 3, and 4. The Pierre clay has not been reached in wells over 200 feet deep on the high lands south of Bloomfield, which indicates a great thickness of post-Cretaceous formations, many of them water-bearing. Over much of the eastern half of the county two gravel beds, separated by clay and sand, are encountered, except where they have been removed by erosion or where Tertiary sands rise above them. In this county, as elsewhere, the water derived from wells extend- ing into the Pierre clay and the Niobrara chalk rock usually contains much alkali, unless the- beds have lost their soluble matter by leach- ing. Usually, not far from places underlain by these formations, good water may be obtained from alluvial or other sands. Artesian wells. — Large supplies of artesian waters are available in all of the lower lands of the county, and in many places the conditions are favorable for high-pressure wells. The mill well at Niobrara, used so successfully for power, indicates that such wells might be ob- tained at many jDoints on the Missouri, Niobrara, and Ponca bottoms. With little doubt one or more stronger flows can be had at a slightly greater depth, and an attempt is now being made at the Niobrara mill to reach one of these; the last report (1905) indicates slow progress in the drilling and a depth of 500 feet. 42 MISSOURI VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 2 V. ■^03 a > . 3 I I be >> iT ^- S § ^ " 03 ® C O M s 03 . •- Si ai S ® c .^ ? ^ ^ 2 ^ ^ .ti ^ 11 i p c-S •"^ O « -, .2 -^3 T3 -d"" 3 d c c, "Tj ci cS oi o o o o o o orr 02 CC CC 02 02 OJ CO fQ ."m C '-'^ :2 CO O o o g£§Sb T3'3'ct2 03«=3=g -rt O 01 c ;5 +j !« o =s. C i' 0-=.-5 m_^ ^ >, 4-"^ ^3^3 O O 3 O T3'T3"iT3 -I- ES " ° =s oc^iooeco-^oocoocioo lO 0^-*-^ P O o o o ^ S-/0 Mh N-1 Ni »-s of gfi iw > O c3 t3 03 C O >^ o +j Tj _*js c ^ "^ "^t; s > - ^ w'ta WATER RESOURCES, BY COUNTIES. 43 A new well is soon to be put down at the Santee Agency. The old well there, which has been used successfully for mill power, irrigation, fire protection, and general water supply, is now of little use (see PL XI, A ) , because the casing has rusted off 2 or 3 feet below ground. The large well at the school afforded clear w^ater for about two weeks when finished, and the volume was at first over 2,000 gallons per min- ute. After a while it began throwing out sand and shale, and the flow ceased entirely a few times but was started again each time by cleaning. At present the pressure is 26^ pounds at the mouth of the well, which is 105 feet above Missouri River. In this well trouble was experienced with the casing at a depth of about 500 feet. The present water supply is thought to come principally from the first flow. Wells in the northeastern part of the county have decreased in pressure and flow, principally because they Avere not properly cased. Attempts to get wells on high lands have failed because of the alti- tude, the pressure, though strong in the water-bearing beds below^, not being sufficient to force the Avater to the height necessary. Record of tvell at the packing house, Niohrara, on the Missouri hottom, sec. 8, T. 32, R. 6 W. Feet. Soil and sand 0- 70 Niobrara chalk rock i 70-200 Clays and shales with thin beds of iron pj-rites (Carlile) 200-410 Limestone (Greenhorn) 410-442 Clay and shale (Graneros) 442-520 Dakota sandstone and clay 520-600 Record of small icell at the school, Santee, yehr., sec. 13, T. 33, R. o W. [Mouth of well 14:^ feet above the Missouri River.] Feet. Soil and sand 0-23 Pierre clay 23 - 35 Niobrara chalk rock 35 _240 Clay, shale, and thin beds of iron pyrites (Carlile) 240 —445* Limestone (Greenhorn) 445^-502 Clay and shale (Graneros) 502 -GOO Dakota sandstone GOO -G04 Record of John Lytle tvell, sec. 19, 2\ 33, R. 2 W., Xehrasla. [Mouth about 70 feet above the Missouri Kiver.] Feet. Soil 0- G Niobrara chalk rock G- SS Clays and shales with hard beds (Carlile) 88-380 Limestone (Greenhorn) 380-400 Clay and some shale (Graneros) 400-490 Dakota sandstone and clay (second flow) 490-530 44 MISSOURI VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Eh i 5 . •^2 9J kco CO 2 3 00 3 r lis 1^' . t» S C Ph pL, P. . cS •'-' o ^ p s ^gj o O S 12 .•I J3 o3 iB o s •^ OJ o f- u m O 3.2 -s S s 5 <5 tbg s s f53 3 ox: o >. != S OP4 _5 o a ob -~ o -7. c c:^ . r -- OD — 5 s 2 J 2 = i 'C _: 2 3 'Z^l c)tf • -c ~ o ^ C y.2~-f 5c; ? CO ;> 02 - X ^ ?j~ . ^ -r c^ .^ ■z i o X o z.ir XT' C x 2; — w-=. i-2 5Q0C; 3S :-3 c ._. = 5 ^ ^ ^S< <2; ^|c o g c^;5 ^ ii^xS ^2 II §gx C5Ci 00 oc 05^ M !M !NIM— I .-i.-N(N(N JS C^ C< M s* I I ~S ^ 3 8SSS S SS l2J ss: SSSiis ^?S ^i? ;^" ^ ^ CO —( E-* - ^ e^-: _ _ ro — " * "5- a Z coxxcc S = ^ ^ e^ « ?f ^e?: i CO re c«5 CO CO CO i?j?i?;ss ^^B CO o 9 d ej a 2 c 2 c 5 xT as^ S -•^ C X -. "7 ^ c ,9 — -^ o^ o 48 MISSOURI VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. .o-d •s2 li 00 o eg a> . .S SS ! lo ;s :S S S c^* 4^ 5c t: o ;-2 -p. o OX) o c: o . c§ i. SS ^^ 1^ 2 ii , - o 15 O ft fa So CO 00 Is CO T»< >0> Q) O O O f^ ^ > (N (N C^ C^ C^ CO COcoCOcOCO www (N(NCS pip? pi CN C^IM' .W . 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The southwestern part of Dixon County resembles adjacent parts of Cedar County in topography, structure, and water conditions. In most other portions, except on the bottom land and along the bluffs on the ^lissouri. loess-covered hills predominate. TIk? amount of sand and gravel beneath the loess appears to decrease to the northeast. The northwestern part of the county is underlain by Niobrara chalk rock. Glacial clay appears to be more widely distributed than in Cedar County. Very little difficulty is experienced in obtaining a good supply of Avater. the Benton clays being the only beds that yield well water unfit for use. The i^rincipal water-power stream, the AoAva, is not strong, but inexpensive dams at Ponca and Martinsburg, constructed of brush, stone, and soil, afford water power for flouring and grist mills. Sj)rings. — Many springs occur in the county, one of the most not- able of which is at Waterbury, where the flow has been used for locomotives. The water here rises from a considerable depth into a large circular basin near the station. One-half mile south a similar spring 45 feet across and 20 feet deep, flows between 300 and 400 gal- lons of water a minute, never freezing over during winter. The Hurley Springs, about 5 miles west of Martinsburg, come out of sands above bowlder clay at an altitude of 1,425 feet. South of this place there is a general seepage from the slope at an altitude of 1,500 feet. Shallow loells. — Much of the domestic Arater supply is from very shallow wells, which are affected somewhat by dry weather. In sev- eral localities the water table comes so near the surface that flowing wells might be had. One well 45 feet deep, at the stock yards in Allen, overflows. At Allen the water rises to within 12 feet of the surface, from a bed of gravel which lies at a depth of 70 feet. The following representative wells show the prevailing conditions in this county : WATER RESOURCES, BY COUNTIES. 61 s B I 8>. o - S >. -J cS S3 O III WPQh5 TJ _ •p^- o iJ"— > fe « S 1 -I « ? c c SS ^ S o s> "^ ^ o 02 CQ 31 2^ c eg 00 -3 © o" — or! lo © d* ""' . -LT © © ^ © ^ ©.c © = O a> . • c o S >- '3 >> ■2^ " m en 5i.2owt.2e^a: 52 MISSOURI VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Artesian wells. — There are a few artesian wells on the bottom lands in the northern part of the county. If wells were sunk to the lower beds of the Dakota formation and carefully cased, flows could be had several miles farther southeast. There are also a number of deep tubular wells located on high land south of the Missouri bottom. The following wells are now flowing: WATER RESOURCES, BY COUNTIES. 53 as C 3 2§ I T, & o © S 5; I a QJX3 o a a; C c o !Q en 1- li foot. lallowest ipe rusted ressure 10 First flow ressure 8 p ca MP-lP^ HI lit III SSSSS S SSo s s OS? .-I • CO M i^S* ■5b S 8 lSg<5 s ^ ^ ei C^ —I (N C^ C^ C^C^CS M iMCO r^ O to «o Q 00 P^ ■^ ^ CO "^ enEHEHgEH ■^ TJ1 lO lO IC o c5c«5c5 CO CON « S m (»