Earth Sciences Commons^™

Guide For A Field Conference On The Tertiary And Pleistocene Of Nebraska, C. Bertrand Schultz, Thompson M. Stout, Alvin Leonard Lugn, M. K. Elias, F. W. Johnson, M. F. Skinner

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

The earliest record of the Museum states that in June of 1874 Professor Samuel Aughey was appointed Director of Cabinets. He was succeeded by Professor Lewis E. Hicks in June, 1885. Little work was carried on in paleontology, however, until Dr. Erwin H. Barbour took charge in 1891 and organized the first expeditions. In 1893, Mr. Charles H. Morrill began his generous support of the field work, and since that time important contributions by him and others have enabled this work to continue. The search for fossil remains has taken Museum parties to every county in Nebraska, and to several …

Some Features Of The Squaw Formation Near Lander, Wyoming, Benjamin H. Burma, Irvin J. Anderson

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

The studies of the Squaw formation of the "Chugwater" series were conducted in the vicinity of Lander, Fremont County, Wyoming. Most of the observations were made at Derby Dome which is located in parts of T31N and T32N, R98W fifteen miles southeast of Lander. Others were made at Dallas Dome, nine miles southeast of Lander, and at Squaw Canyon, the type section, about four miles west of Lander. The region is one of moderately high, but not mountainous relief. The elevation at Lander is about 5350 feet, Derby Dome being somewhat less and Squaw Canyon somewhat more. Since it is …

Nebraska In Relation To The Problems Of Pleistocene Stratigraphy, Alvin Leonard Lugn

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Nebraska is so peculiarly situated with respect to Pleistocene deposits of glacial, fluviatile, and eolian origin that it holds the key to the solution of many important problems of the stratigraphy of that period. A brief outline of the Pleistocene geology of Nebraska with several illustrations is followed by a statement of and brief discussion of several of these problems. The main problems touched upon are: age of the Loveland loess, Pleistocene classification, correlation with Europe, the need for a better understanding of what is meant by "glacial" and "interglacial," the problem of glacial and interglacial loess, the duration of …

Classification Of The Tertiary System In Nebraska, Alvin Leonard Lugn

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

This paper represents the results of almost continuous research by the Nebraska State Geological Survey on Tertiary stratigraphy in Nebraska during a perIod of more than 10 years, with special attention to the present acceptable stratigraphic nomenclature. Cogent reasons are presented for the retention of such well-known names as White River, Arikaree, and Ogallala, all now redefined and elevated to group ranking. “Loup Fork” and “Loup River,” "Nebraska beds", and “Republican River" are considered obsolete. The application of fossil seed zones to problems of correlation is noted. The table of Tertiary Formations of Nebraska summarizes the Tertiary stratigraphy in Nebraska.

The Nebraska State Geological Survey And The "Valentine Problem", Alvin Leonard Lugn

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

The Nebraska State Geological Survey is primarily concerned with the stratigraphic classification of the Tertiary lithologic units in this state. When the stratigraphic relationships are fully understood, the faunas can be properly and correctly related and named, whether the stratigraphic names or others are used. It should be understood that this survey, in determmmg its acceptance of stratigraphic names on the basis of priority, is making every effort to differentiate names which have been applied in a strictly stratigraphic sense from names which. while they may be older, were applied in only a geographic or faunal sense and have only …

Geology And Ground-Water Resources Of South-Central Nebraska. With Special Reference To The Platte River Valley Between Chapman And Gothenburg, Alvin Leonard Lugn, L. K. Wenzel

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

The investigation here reported, which covered a period of about 5 years, 1929 to 1933, was made for the purpose of determining the available supply of ground water in south-central Nebraska, the origin and discharge of the ground water, and the relation of the geologic and ground-water conditions in the Platte River Valley to the conditions occurring under the plains to the south. The area was found to be underlain by permeable Pleistocene and Tertiary sand .and gravel, much of which is saturated and yields relatively large quantities of water to wells. Except in a few isolated places the ground-water …

A Pleistocene Lake In The White River Valley, Paul Macclintock, Erwin Hinckley Barbour, C. B. Schultz, Alvin Leonard Lugn

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

DURING the course of a field conference on the Pleistocene geology of western Nebraska, carved sediments were found in the headwater drainage of White River near Crawford, Nebraska. A reconnaissance of White River Valley revealed them to be present also in the mid-course, near Interior, South Dakota, and at the mouth, near Chamberlain, South Dakota, where the White River joins the Missouri (Fig. 1). These isolated occurrences of varves, over a distance of 240 miles, are so similar that a correlation seemed possible. Furthermore, since the varves occur within the area where Yuma artifacts are found, it was thought that …

Conservation Of The Prehistoric Remains Of Nebraska, Alvin Leonard Lugn

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

A RESOLUTION has recently been adopted by both houses of the Nebraska legislature to conserve the scientifically very valuable deposits of fossil and other prehistoric remains which occur in the state. This is not to be construed as an unfriendly move on the part of the sponsors of this act. The Nebraska Geological Survey welcomes serious scientific study and research within the state by all persons and institutions who seriously desire to investigate and collect for purely scientific purposes. There is no intention to restrict or curtail the collection of materials by properly accredited representatives of educational institutions and museums. …

The Nebraska Earthquake Of March 1, 1935, Alvin Leonard Lugn

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

RESIDENTS within an area of 50,000 to 75,000 square miles in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas were awakened by mild but distinct earth tremors at 5:00 and 5:03 A.M. on March 1. No damage of any importance has been reported. Two distinct tremors occurred, each lasting about 10 seconds, about 3 minutes apart.

Pre-Pennsylvanian Stratigraphy Of Nebraska, Alvin Leonard Lugn

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Sioux quartzite, granite, and schistose metamorphic rocks have been recognized in the pre-Cambrian. The present irregularities, the "basins and highs," on the pre- Cambrian surface are the result of erosion and a long structural history. In general succeedingly younger rocks rest unconformably by overlap against the pre-Cambrian "highs." The principal erosional and structural "highs" are: the "Nemaha mountains," the Cambridge anticline, the Chadron dome, and the Sioux Falls area. "Basins," or saddle-like depressions, occur on the pre-Cambrian surface between the "highs." The largest of these trends from southeast to northwest across the central part of Nebraska. The history of each …

Geology Of Lucas County [Iowa], Alvin Leonard Lugn

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Lucas county is in the south-central part of Iowa just east of a north and south line through the central part of the state and in the second tier of counties from the IowaMissouri line. Its position in this tier of counties is sixth east of Missouri river and also sixth west of Mississippi river. Warren and Marion counties are on the north, Monroe county is on the . east, Wayne county on the south and Clarke county on the west. It corners with Appanoose county on the southeast and with Decatur county on the southwest.

This is one of …

A Phenomenon Of The Kansan Drift In Nebraska, Erwin Hinckley Barbour

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Among the minor phenomena of the glacial drift in Nebraska there is one which, though rarely observed by the public, is of interest and should be commended to the attention of naturalists. The reference here is to certain large, well-defined masses or blocks of such materials as sand, gravel, and coarse pebbles, which occur imbedded in the drift clays along with glacial bowlders, and which presumably have been similarly transported and deposited. These masses or blocks vary widely in color, texture, and kind. They also vary from the glacial matrix in which they are found and are the more striking …

Notice Of Newly Discovered Eurypterids In Nebraska, Erwin Hinckley Barbour

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

A BED of Eurypterids has just been discovered by the Nebraska Geological Survey in the Carboniferous shales of southeastern Nebraska, and thus a new locality is added to the list for the United States. Such localities are somewhat rare, and notice of any and every new one must be acceptable.

The Carboniferous outcrops are confined to some eight or ten counties in the extreme southeastern corner of the state, and though covered heavily by glacial clays, bold exposures occur in proximity to the bolder streams, especially the Missouri River. About a mile south of Peru, on the Missouri River front, …

Evidence Of Man In The Loess Of Nebraska, Erwin Hinckley Barbour

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

After careful investigation the writer stands ready to announce his belief in the occurrence of human remains in the loess of this state, and for this primitive type he has proposed the name Nebraska Loess Man. Such importance attaches to the discovery as to warrant a paper devoted to the geological facts connected therewith.

Report Of The Geological Expedition Of Hon. Charles H. Morrill. Season Of 1906, Erwin Hinckley Barbour

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

THE MORRILL geological expedition of the University of Nebraska for the season of 1906 continued the work of the previous season by developing the bone quarry on University Hill, at Agate, Sioux County, Nebraska. This quarry is situated on the eastern extremity of Mr. James Cook's ranch, which is an extensive one, and probably the best known in the state. In addition to the uplands it contains some ten square miles along the valley of the Niobrara. The high bluffs adjacent to and beyond this model ranch are fossiliferous, while at Carnegie Hill and University Hill there are literal bone …

Notice Of A New Miocene Rhinoceros, Diceratherium Arikarense, Erwin Hinckley Barbour

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

THE accompanying sketches represent the skull of a species of rhinoceros, Diceratherium arikarense, supposedly new, discovered by the geological expedition of 1905, sent from the University of Nebraska by the Hon. Charles H. Morrill to the Loup Fork beds at Agate, Nebraska, on the ranch of Mr. James Cook.

The genus Diceratherium was established by Marsh in 1875 on material from the Miocene beds near the John Day River in eastern Oregon, and two species, armatum and nanum, were recognized. A third species, advenum, was based on material from the Eocene (possibly Miocene) of Utah. Difference of horizon, …

A Workable Bed Of Coal In Nebraska, Erwin Hinckley Barbour

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

ALTHOUGH for years past the state legislature of Nebraska has offered a bounty amounting to four thousand dollars for the discovery of a twenty-six-inch bed of workable coal, and five thousand for a thirty-six-inch bed, it is only within the past few days that any one has filed with the governor legitimate claims for the bounty. The bed of coal recently exposed, near Peru, Neb., extending some forty-two feet along the sides of a tunnel back from the banks of Honey Creek, seems to be fully thirty-four inches in thickness, as measured by the writer. This is known as the …

Report Of The Tenth Geological Expedition Of Hon. Charles H. Morrill, Season Of 1905, Erwin Hinckley Barbour

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

The season of 1905 marked a renewal of paleontological activity in the University of Nebraska, since it so happened that for the first time in several years funds became available again for the prosecution of such work.

By virtue of the liberal support and patronage of Hon. Charles H. Morrill, of Lincoln, annual geological expeditions, essentially paleontological in character, had been maintained in connection with the state university since 1892. In 1901, though his interest in the work AS well as his good will continued, his patronage ceased. This was wholly due to the overcrowded condition of the state museum, …

Report Of The Tenth Geological Expedition Of Hon. Charles H. Morrill, Season Of 1905, Erwin Hinckley Barbour

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

The season of 1905 marked a renewal of paleontological activity in the University of Nebraska, since it so happened that for the first time in several years funds became available again for the prosecution of such work.
By virtue of the liberal support and patronage of Hon. Charles H. Morrill, of Lincoln, annual geological expeditions, essentially paleontological in character, had been maintained in connection with the state university since 1892. In 1901, though his interest in the work AS well as his good will continued, his patronage ceased. This was wholly due to the overcrowded condition of the state museum, …

A New Miocene Artiodactyl, Erwin Hinckley Barbour

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

AMONG several discoveries made in the Daimonelix beds (Loup Fork) of Sioux County, Nebraska, the most striking one of the season seems to be that of a new four-horned ancestral antelope, Syndyoceras cooki, the skull of which is herein figured and briefly described. The discovery was made by Mr. Harold G. Cook, a former Lincoln student and a member of the Morrill geological expedition of 1905.

Present Knowledge Of The Distribution Of Daimonelix, Erwin Hinckley Barbour

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Daimonelix when first discovered, in 1891, was thought to be confined to the elevated tablelands of central Sioux County, Nebraska. In the meantime its range has been extended and it is now known almost throughout the entire Arikaree formation, a tract probably about five hundred miles in diameter, situated in Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, Wyoming and Colorado. The more fibrous forms of Daimonelix constitute a character so constant as to justify the name Fibrous Arikaree for the upper half of the formation.

Report On The Progress Of The Nebraska State Geological Survey And The Morrill Geological Expedition Of 1901, Erwin Hinckley Barbour

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

IN spite of the phenomenal heat of the summer of 1901, which was of such intensity and duration that active work in the field was finally suspended, enough progress was made to justify the presentation of the matter to this society. It should be reported, first of all, that a request for funds, amounting to twelve hundred dollars, for publishing the first reports of the state geological survey, was presented to the Legislature, and was passed April 1, 1901, without comment or dissent. This may be recorded as the first sum voted by the state for the examination and publication …

The Geological Bibllography Of Nebraska, Erwin H. Barbour, Cassius A. Fisher

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Where there is a wide diversity of interests it is necessary for citizens, including farmers, mechanics, merchants, students, and professional men, to make constant reference to. the various authors of the state to learn what has been done and what has been written along the diverse lines of investigation in which they are interested. In response, then, to constant inquiry the following list of papers is prepared, being compiled from every available source. PaleontoIogical papers dealing mainly with the descriptions have not been included in every case. But the list of articles concerning our geography, physiography, stratigraphy, resources, water-supply, etc., …

Report On The Work Of The Morrill Geological Expeditions Of The University Of Nebraska, Carrie Adeline Barbour

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Through the generosity of the Hon. Charles H. Morrill, of Lincoln, the expeditions sent out from the University of Nebraska, known as the Morrill Geological Expeditions, have become a permanent organization of the University. Therefore, it is but a fitting mark of respect that reports of these expeditions be given to the Nebraska Academy of Science from time to time in order that they may become matters of record. Introductory to this work, a private geological excursion was undertaken in June of 1891, by Mr. Erwin Hinckley Barbour in the interest of the University of Nebraska. At this time the …

Glacial Grooves And Striae In Southeastern Nebraska, Erwin Hinckley Barbour

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

NEBRASKA is so close upon the western as well as the southern limit of the drift that evidences of glacial action which might be commonplace elsewhere are rare and interesting here. The mere fact that glacial grooves and striae have been found seems worthy therefore of mention. Glacial drift, readily recognizable as such, does not extend far west of the 97th meridian, and in but one place in the state, on the Dakota-Nebraska boundary, does it reach the 98th meridian. East of the 97th meridian it is distinct and unmistakable, and it may be offered as a safe statement that …

Report On The Initial Work Of The State Geological Survey Of Nebraska, Erwin Hinckley Barbour

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

IN a State such as Nebraska where there is no 'mineral'--a term which in the west has come to mean gold and silver-bearing--it is difficult to convince the masses that there is the least possible economic importance in a State geological survey.

If 'mineral' did occur, apathy could much more easily be overcome, and the appeals for a survey would find more willing and receptive ears. But something stronger than apathy is encountered in the prejudice which has been engendered against a State survey by men who have sought heretofore to establish such for the evident purpose of holding office, …

A Preliminary Report On The Mechanical Analyses Of The Soils Of Nebraska., Erwin Hinckley Barbour

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Under the auspices of the State Board of Agriculture the Geologist of the Board undertook, in 1892, the work of collecting the soils of the state, both for permanent display in the State Museum and for the more technical purposes of analysis.

The Occurrence In Nebraska Of Vireo Flavoviridis, Erwin Hinckley Barbour

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

A specimen of the Yellow-green Vireo, Vireo flavoviridis, shot at Long Pine, Brown County, has just been received by the Curator of the Museum of the University of Nebraska. This is the first one reported in this State. It is a rare Vireo for the entire United States having been reported, as far as the author can learn, from Texas, California, and Canada only.

Report Of The Geologist, Erwin Hinckley Barbour

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

THE PROBLEM OF OUR SOILS AND SOIL MOISTURE.

The soil survey of the state, which was begun by the author in November of 1892, has progressed to the point where it might be considered finished. That is, one or more samples of soils have been taken from every distinct soil region in the state-in fact, most of the separate counties are represented, and mechanical analyses of many of these have already been made. However, in consideration of the size of our counties, the work will not be declared complete until each is represented in the state museum by soil prisms …

A Two-Headed Tortoise, Erwin Hinckley Barbour

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

INQUIRIES from various quarters have been made so repeatedly for the sequel to the brief story of a young two-headed tortoise, Chrysemys picta, published in the American Journal of Science for October, 1888, that the author is led to believe that a public account thereof will serve more useful ends than many private ones. In order that the sequel may be more intelligible to all, a brief resume of the first paper will be given.

The young tortoise, hatched but a day or so, was found in the marshes bordering West River, New Haven, Conn. The carapace, which was somewhat …