User:IveGoneAway/sandbox/Fort Hays Limestone Member

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Fort Hays Limestone
Stratigraphic range: Cretaceous
Fort Hays Limestone in the K-147 road cut at the Cedar Bluff State Park, Kansas, USA.
TypeFormation Member
Unit ofNiobrara Formation of the Colorado Group
UnderliesSmoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Formation
OverliesNon-conformably, Codell Sandstone, Blue Hill Shale, or Juana Lopez members of the Carlile Formation
Lithology
PrimaryLimestone
OtherShale partings
Location
RegionMid-continental: Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota
Country United States
Type section
Named forFort Hays
Named byS. W. Williston[1]
LocationHogback ridge just west of old Fort Hays, Kansas
Year defined1893[1]

The Fort Hays Limestone is a member of the Niobrara Formation of the Colorado Group exposed in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota and is named for the bluffs near the old Fort Hays, a well-known landmark in western Kansas.[1][2]

Defining the southeast border of the High Plains, the towering stone-capped bluffs of the Fort Hays Escarpment are "perhaps the most conspicuous physiographic boundary in Kansas."[3]

The iconic stone blockhouse of Fort Hays is built from the namesake limestone.


The Fort Hays Limestone was a generally practical building stone. However, it deteriorates in when in contact with soil (note the repaired foundation on the Old Fort Hays Blockhouse). In contrast, the Fencepost limestone is quite durable in the ground, so, the Fencepost can be seen in foundation course of buildings that are otherwise faced with Fort Hays Limestone. Particularly in Hays and Ellis, where the Fort Hays and Fencepost outcrops are in close geographic proximity, the two limestones are seen in combination in buildings.[4][5]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Daniel F. Merriam (1963). "The Geologic History of Kansas". Kansas Geological Survey Bulletin (162). Kansas Geological Survey. Retrieved 2017-01-22. The term Fort Hays is derived from old Fort Hays, a well-known landmark in western Kansas, and was first used by Samuel Wendell Williston in 1893.
  2. ^ Howard E. Simpson. "Geology of the Yankton Area South Dakota and Nebraska" (PDF). Geological Survey Professional Paper (328). U.S. Department of the Interior. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  3. ^ "Wence the Fence: Geology of the Post Rock". Land of the Post Rock - Its Origins, History, and People. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence. 1975. pp. 89–91. {{cite book}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter |authors= (help)
  4. ^ Warren G. Hodson (1965). Geology and Ground-Water Resources of Trego County, Kansas, Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 174. University of Kansas Publications, State Geological Survey of Kansas. p. Economic Geology, continued. The Fort Hays Limestone Member of the Niobrara Chalk has been quarried for structural stone at numerous localities in Trego County. The Fort Hays is relatively soft, although it hardens upon weathering. The Fort Hays also tends to absorb water and thus to deteriorate through freeze-and-thaw action and from spalling. Many farm buildings, city dwellings, and business houses in the area constructed of the Fort Hays Limestone seem to stand up well for many years, however. In a report by Risser (1960) the sources and characteristics of building stone in Kansas are discussed.
  5. ^ Alvin R. Leonard and Delmar W. Berry (1961). Geology and Ground-water Resources of Southern Ellis County and Parts of Trego and Rush Counties, Kansas, Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 149. University of Kansas Publications, State Geological Survey of Kansas. p. Geography. In addition to fence posts, the [Fencepost] limestone has been used widely in southern Ellis County and elsewhere for foundations and buildings. Among the buildings constructed from this stone are the magnificent Catholic churches at Pfeifer, Victoria, and Liebenthal and the principal buildings at the Fort Hays State College in Hays. Newer buildings constructed from sawed blocks of this stone include the Methodist church and the Ellis County courthouse in Hays. ... The Fort Hays Limestone member of the Niobrara Chalk also has been quarried for structural stone, although it is not as weather-resistant as the "Fencepost" Limestone bed. It is softer than the Greenhorn Limestone and spalls badly when used for foundation stone.

Category:Cretaceous Colorado Category:Cretaceous Kansas Category:Cretaceous Nebraska


Fort Hays Limestone For a time it was referred to as Hays Limestone It is recognizsed for formation of high bluffs and escarpments around the bounds of the High Plains of the United States. It has been a major source of limestone used in the manufacture of cement in the mid-continent. In the Front Range, it forms a secondary Hogback or flat irons on the East face of the Dakota Hogback . Historically, it has been suitable as a building stone in the dryer climate where it happens to outcrop; however, even in the dryer High Plains it is known to deteriorate when when used in foundations in contact with the ground .

?? miles of the Ft Hays hogback north of Long???? was remove through cement manufact and? mining of the underlying coal.

This limestone was widely used for manufacture of portland cement. Historic abandoned cement works include

Inoceramus deformis is an index fossil for the ... it is abundant in Fort Hays Limestone and its presence readily confirms the use of that stone in a building.



Stratigraphy and Depositional Environment of Smoky Hill Chalk Member, Niobrara Chalk (Upper Cretaceous) of the Type Area, Western Kansas

by Donald E. Hattin

Department of Geology, Indiana University

Originally published in 1982 as Kansas Geological Survey Bulletin 225.

History of Stratigraphic Nomenclature

Principal macroinvertebrate species of the Fort Hays Member are large, bowl-shaped inoceramids, which are invariably encrusted, at least in part, by crowded specimens of Pseudoperna congesta. The oysterPycnodonte aucella (Roemer) occurs in the lower 8.6 m (28 ft) of the Hackberry Creek section (Loc. 1). Inoceramus deformis Meek ranges approximately from 1.1 m to 8.6 m (3.6-28 ft) above the base of the Fort Hays. Inoceramus (Cremnoceramus) inconstans Woods? ranges approximately from 7.9 to 14.9 m (25.9-48.8 ft) above the base at Locality 1. In the same section Inoceramus (Cremnoceramus) browni Cragin occurs in the interval 9.6 to 14.9 m (31.5-48.8 ft) above the base of the Fort Hays. In the interval from the uppermost occurrence of I. (Cremnoceramus) browni to the uppermost bed of the Fort Hays, fragmentary remains of bowl-shaped inoceramids are relatively sparse, and positive identification of the species represented has not been accomplished. The uppermost bed of the Fort Hays contains well-preserved articulated specimens referred tentatively to Inoceramus (Volviceramus) koeneni Miiller.

Gallery of Natural Monumemnts


Excellent roadside veiwing of the Ft. Hays Limestone is found on the Highway 183 approches to the Saline River. A number of historical buildings in Hays are constructed of Ft. Hays Limestone. The use of this limestone is indicated by a lighter and even shade than the common Fencepost Limestone buildings, blocks larger than 10 inches, and visible fragments of

The FHL can be recognized by its white to yellow color, use of larger blocks, and the presence of the thick-shelled bowl shaped I. deformis Didinct from the other common Kansas limestone used in construction: The Fencepost limestone tends to have the orange or rest tint and one or two stripes and shows abundant I. labadies. Common large-block limestones that are now commonly use instead of the poorer FHL include Silverdale and Cottonwood Limestone -- these are not native to the Smoky Hills, are white to buff or very light grey, and show late-Permian fusilinids and brachiopods.

The Fort Hays Limestone member of the Niobrara Chalk also has been quarried for structural stone, although it is not as weatherresistant as the "Fencepost" Limestone bed. Stone from the Fort Hays has also been crushed for road material, has been used in the manufacture of putty and Portland cement, a


U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MINERALS YEARBOOK—2003 https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/state/2003/costmyb03.pdf

Source: Colorado Geological Survey/U.S. Geological Survey (2003)

​THE MINERAL INDUSTRY OF COLORADO This chapter has been prepared under a Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Colorado Geological Survey for collecting information on all nonfuel minerals. 

Cement.—The Portland Plant near Florence is operated by Holcim (US), Inc. Cement is produced using the dry method in its processing plant, which has a capacity of 1.7 million metric tons per year. In 2003, the plant produced slightly more than 1.1 Mt of cement, employed about 180 people, and has not lost production time to accidents in 500 days. The majority of its product is used in the metropolitan Denver area and throughout Colorado; some cement is also distributed to western Kansas and Nebraska. Limestone from the Fort Hays Member of the Niobrara Formation of Upper Cretaceous age is mined by Holcim as the principal raw ingredient for its cement. The Codell Sandstone, also of Cretaceous age, is mined for use as a silica additive. Portland and masonry cement are produced at the CEMEX mine and processing plant near Lyons in Boulder County. The plant uses the dry-processing method and employs about 100 people. Cement production in 2003 was 467,000 t, most of which was used in the greater metropolitan Denver area. Cement ingredients (limestone and shale) are mined locally from the Niobrara Formation and the overlying Pierre Shale ​​