Page:The Journal of geology (IA journalofgeology21894univers).pdf/210

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
196
THE JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY.

The Poteau mountain marine beds are of about the same age as the Wyoming valley limestones[1] of the Upper Productive Coal Measures of Pennsylvania, and these belong below the Dunkard creek series of the Upper Barren Coal Measures. The Dunkard creek[2] beds have lately been proved by Professor I. C. White to be of the same age as the Permian of northern Texas, on the basis of plant remains that also occur towards the top of the Wichita series of Texas, in which marine Permian fossils[3] have already been found.

But the paleobotanic evidence aids in establishing the age of the Upper Coal Measures only; plants are not reported from any horizons of the Lower Coal Measures, although they are known from a few localities.

Owen[4] mentiones Stigmaria ficoides as occurring at Patterson's mill, near Bee Rock, on Little Red river, White county. In August, 1892, a few plants were found by the Survey in the Bee Rock sandstone, near the base of the series and below most of the marine fossils, but none of these could be identified.

General D. McRae, of Searcy, informed the Survey that in Township 7 N., Range 7 W., Section 4, in White county, were found shales containing numerous Lepidodendra and ferns. These shales are above the Bee Rock sandstones.

In a well at Dr. Griffin's, Township 5 N., Range 10 W., Section 5, near El Paso, White county, specimens of Lepidodendron were collected by Dr. J. C. Branner, in micaceous flaggy sandstone, thought to be of the same age as the shales of Searcy. About fifty feet above the flaggy sandstone was found a thin bed of coal, and thirty feet higher was another coal bed with numerous ferns and Calamites in the overlying shales.

C. S. Prosser[5] mentiones plants supposed to be of Lower

  1. ↑ Second Geol. Sur. of Pa., An. Rep., 1885, pp. 437-458, C. A. Ashburner and A. Heilprin, "Report on the Wyoming Valley Limestone Beds."
  2. ↑ Bul. Geol. Soc. America, Vol. III., p. 217.
  3. ↑ Dr. C. A. White, Bulletin 77, U. S. Geological Survey.
  4. ↑ Second Geol. Recon. Ark., Vol. I., p. 68.
  5. ↑ Ark. Geol. Survey, An. Rep., Vol. III., 1890, p. 423.
This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.