Part 4

Sand dunes have accumulated in places, especially near stream valleys. Dunes are common, for example, along the north side of the North Canadian River.

Oil and gas fields are widely developed in the southeast part of the Plains Border section—in the Smoky Hills, the Great Bend Plains, and the Red Hills.

The Plains Border section, like the Missouri Plateau, the Colorado Piedmont, and the Pecos Valley, is primarily a product of stream dissection. The differences in the outstanding landforms of the section are mainly the result of differences in the hardness of the eroded rocks.

EPILOGUE

The Great Plains, as we have seen, is many things. It contains thick layers of rock that formed in oceans, and younger layers of rocks deposited by streams. These rocks have been affected by earth movements and injected by hot molten rock, some of which reached the surface as volcanic rock. The rocks have been carved by streams, dissolved by ground water, partly covered by glaciers, and blown by winds. All of these agents have played important roles in determining the landscape and the landforms of the Great Plains. But the streams were the master agent. They formed the great depositional plain that was to become the Great Plains, and then began to destroy it—leaving only the High Plains to remind us of what it was. Those long miles we travel across the High Plains are a journey through history—geologic history.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This narrative history of geologic and biologic events in the Great Plains had its origin in a study intended to identify potential National Natural Landmarks in the Great Plains, commissioned by the National Park Service. William A. Cobban, G. Edward Lewis, and Reuben J. Ross of the U. S. Geological Survey were collaborators in that study, and some of their contributions to the history of life on the Great Plains have been incorporated into this narrative, which was undertaken at the urging of Wallace R. Hansen.

The photographic illustrations, other than those obtained from the film library of the U. S. Geological Survey, were provided by the interest and effort of my friends and colleagues of the Geological Survey—including C. R. Dunrud, V. L. Freeman, C. D. Miller, R. D. Miller, F. W. Osterwald, R. L. Parker, W. H. Raymond, III, Kenneth Shaver, and R. B. Taylor—and by Eugene Shearer, Intrasearch, Inc., Denver, Colo. Without their help this publication would not have been possible.

SOME SOURCE REFERENCES

Alden, W. C., 1932, Physiography and glacial geology of eastern Montana and adjacent areas: U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 174, 133 p.

Bluemle, J. P., 1977, The face of North Dakota—the geologic story: North Dakota Geological Survey Education Series 11, 73 p.

Colton, R. B., Lemke, R. W., and Lindvall, R. M., 1961, Glacial map of Montana east of the Rocky Mountains: U. S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Geologic Investigations Map I-327.

Colton, R. B., Lemke, R. W., and Lindvall, R. M., 1963, Preliminary glacial map of North Dakota: U. S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Geologic Investigations Map I-331.

Curtis, B. F., ed., 1975, Cenozoic history of the southern Rocky Mountains—Papers deriving from a symposium presented at the Rocky Mountain Section meeting of the Geological Society of America, Boulder, Colorado, 1973: Geological Society of America Memoir 144, 279 p.

Darton, N. H., 1905, Preliminary report on the geology and underground water resources of the central Great Plains: U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 32, 433 p.

Flint, R. F., 1955, Pleistocene geology of eastern South Dakota: U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 262, 173 p.

Frye, J. C., and Leonard, A. B., 1965, Quaternary of the southern Great Plains, _in_ Wright, H. E., Jr., and Frey, D. G., eds., The Quaternary of the United States—A review volume for the 7th Congress of the International Association for Quaternary Research: Princeton University Press, p. 203-216.

Howard, A. D., 1958, Drainage evolution in northeastern Montana and northwestern North Dakota: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 69, no. 5, p. 575-588.

Johnson, R. B., 1961, Patterns and origin of radial dike swarms associated with West Spanish Peak and Dike Mountain, south-central Colorado: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 72, no. 4, p. 579-590.

Judson, S. S., Jr., 1950, Depressions of the northern portion of the southern High Plains of eastern New Mexico: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 61, no. 3, p. 253-274.

Keech, C. F., and Bentall, Ray, 1971, Dunes on the plains—The Sand Hills region of Nebraska: Nebraska University Conservation and Survey Division Resources Report 4, 18 p.

Lemke, R. W., Laird, W. M., Tipton, M. J., and Lindvall, R. M., 1965, Quaternary geology of northern Great Plains, _in_ Wright, H. E., Jr., and Frey, D. G., eds., The Quaternary of the United States—A review volume for the 7th Congress of the International Association for Quaternary Research: Princeton University Press, p. 15-27.

Mansfield, G. R., 1907, Glaciation in the Crazy Mountains of Montana: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 19, p. 558-567.

Pettyjohn, W. A., 1966, Eocene paleosol in the northern Great Plains, _in_ Geological Survey research 1966: U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 550-C, p. C61-C65.

Robinson, C. S., 1956, Geology of Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming: U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1021-I, p. 289-302.

Smith, H. T. U., 1965, Dune morphology and chronology in central and western Nebraska: Journal of Geology, v. 73, no. 4, p. 557-578.

Stormer, J. C., Jr., 1972, Ages and nature of volcanic activity on the southern High Plains, New Mexico and Colorado: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 83, no. 8, p. 2443-2448.

Strahler, A. N., and Strahler, A. H., 1978, Modern physical geography: New York, John Wiley & Sons, 502 p.

Thornbury, W. D., 1965, Regional geomorphology of the United States: New York, John Wiley, 609 p.

Wright, H. E., Jr., 1970, Vegetational history of the Central Plains, _in_ Pleistocene and recent environments of the central Great Plains: Kansas University Department of Geology Special Publication 3, p. 157-172.

INDEX

[Italic page numbers indicate major references]

A Page Acknowledgments 49 Agriculture 30 Alaska 11 Anadarko basin 11, 16 Arikaree Formation 18 Arkansas River 2, 7, 23, 25, 29, 30, 42, 43, 44, 48 Artesia, N. Mex. 46 Austin, Tex. 47

B Bad River 39 Badland development 39 Badlands National Monument 39 Balcones fault zone 23, 46 Basalt flows 20, 24 Bearpaw Mountains 33, 36 Belle Fourche River 39 Bents Fort, Colo. 2 Big Basin, Kans. 48 Big Belt Mountains 36 Big Snowy Mountains 36 Bison 1 Black Hills 7, 11, 18, 19, 20, 37 Border Hills 46 Bottomless Lakes, N. Mex. 45 Brazos River 23 Burnet, Tex. 23

C Camels 16, 18 Canada 1, 5, 33 Canadian escarpment 23, 46 Canadian River 23, 29, 30, 46 Cannonball River 33, 35, 39 Canon City, Colo. 43 Caprock escarpment 7, 29 Capulin Mountain 20, 23 Carlsbad, N. Mex. 46 Carlsbad Caverns, N. Mex. 45 Carrizo Creek 25 Castle Mountains 37 Castle Rock, Colo. 43 Castle Rock Conglomerate 43 Caverns of Sonora 47 Cedar Point 43 Central Lowland 5, 34 Central Texas Uplift 7, 19, 20, 22 Cheyenne, Wyo. 27 Cheyenne River 39 Cimarron River 48 Cirques 38 Clark County, Kans. 48 Climate 2 Coal 16 Coastal Plain 5, 7, 10, 47 Colorado 19 Colorado Piedmont 7, 10, 19, 23, 42, 48, 49 Colorado Plateau 46 Colorado River 23 Colorado Springs, Colo. 43 Coteau du Missouri 34, 35 Crazy Mountains 37 Creosote 1 Cretaceous Period 11, 16, 19, 24, 43, 46, 48

D Dakota hogback 43 Dakota Sandstone 22, 23, 24, 46 Dawson Formation 16 Dead-ice moraines 34 Definition 1 Deformation 11 Denver, Colo. 42 Denver Formation 16 Deposition 10, 11, 32, 44 Devils River 46 Devils Tower, Wyo. 37 Differential erosion 23, 25, 42 Dikes 25 Dinosaurs 16 Drift 34

E Edwards Plateau 10, 19, 29, 46, 48 Eocene Epoch 16 Epilogue 49 Erosion 18 Escarpments 4, 7, 23, 34 Eskers 35

F Farming 30 Fishers Peak 23 Fissures 20 Forests 1, 2, 7 Fort Union Formation 16, 40 Fossils 16 Frio River 46 Front Range 43

G Gangplank 27 Gas 30, 47, 49 Glaciation 2, 5, 11, 33 Grand River 39 Great Bend, Kans. 2 Great Bend Plains 48, 49 Great Falls, Mont. 33, 35 Great Ice Age 5 Great Lakes 5 Guadalupe River 46 Gulf Coastal Plain 7

H Harney Peak 20 Havre, Mont. 33 Heart River 33, 35, 39 Hell Creek Formation 11 High Plains 7, 10, 25, 45, 48 Highwood Mountains 33, 35, 36 Horses 16, 18 Hudson Bay 32, 33

I Ice Age 5 Independence, Mo. 2 Interior Highlands 5 Interior Plains 5, 11 Interstate Highway 25 43 Interstate Highway 70 4 Introduction 1

J Jewel Cave 21 Joints 20 Judith Mountains 36 Judith River 38 Juniper 1

K Kames 35 Kansas 10, 48 Kansas City, Mo. 35 Karst topography 45 Kearney, Nebr. 2 King Mountain 29 Knife River 33, 35, 39

L Laccoliths 37 Lake development 34, 39 Lance Formation 11 Laramie Formation 16 Lava flows 37 Lewis and Clark expedition 2 Limestone Plateau 21, 22 Limon, Colo. 4, 43 Little Basin, Kans. 48 Little Belt Mountains 36 Little Missouri River 33, 35, 38, 40 Little Rocky Mountains 33, 36 Littlefield, Tex. 30 Llano Estacado 29, 30 Loess 29 Longhorn Caverns 23

M Marias River 33 McCamey, Tex. 29 Medicine Lodge River 48 Medina River 46 Mesa de Maya 20, 24, 25 Mescalero escarpment 7, 29, 45, 46 Mesquite 1 Mexico 1, 11 Milk River 33 Minneapolis, Kans. 48 Miocene Epoch 23 Missouri escarpment 34 Missouri Plateau 7, 19, 20, 32, 48, 49 Missouri River 5, 7, 25, 32, 33, 35, 38 Montana 33 Monument Rocks 48 Moraines 34 Moreau River 39 _Moropus_ 18 Mount Rushmore 20 Musselshell River 38

N Nebraska 7, 29 Nebraska Sand Hills 29 Needles area, Black Hills 20 New Mexico 7, 19, 45 North Canadian River 48, 49 North Dakota 33, 34, 35 Nueces River 46 Nunataks 33

O Oak trees 1 Odessa, Tex. 30 Ogallala Formation 18, 23, 24, 25, 27, 29, 45, 46 Ohio River 5 Oil 30, 46, 47, 49 Oklahoma 7 Oligocene Epoch 16, 43 Oregon Trail 2 Ouachita province 5 Outwash plains 35 Ozark Plateaus 5

P Paleocene Epoch 16, 23 Paleozoic Era 21, 30, 45 Palmer Lake 43 Pampa, Tex. 30 Pawnee Buttes 42 Pecos River 7, 25, 45, 46 Pecos Valley 7, 10, 19, 23, 45, 48, 49 Pedernales River 47 Pike, Zebulon iii, 2 Pine Ridge escarpment 7, 29, 40 Pioneers 2 Plains Border Section 19, 48 Platte River 2, 25, 29 Pleistocene Epoch 5 Poison Canyon Formation 16, 23, 24 Powder River 39 Powder River Basin 39 Purgatoire Formation 24 Purgatoire River 25

R Racetrack, The 22 Rainfall 2 Rapid City, S. Dak. 20 Raton Basin 24 Raton Formation 16 Raton Mesa 20, 23 Raton section 10, 20, 23, 45 Red Hills 48, 49 Red Valley 22 Republican River 4, 29, 48 Rhinoceroses 16, 18 Rio Grande 7, 45 Rocky Mountains 5, 19 Roswell, N. Mex. 45