Some Features of the Fort Dodge Gypsum

During the prosecution of field study of the gypsum for the Iowa Geological Survey the writer found immediately beneath the gypsum in several places a basal conglomerate which has not heretofore been described in reports on the region. The locality where this conglomerate is best developed is in a ravine on the west side of Des Moines River opposite Two Mile creek about three miles south of Fort Dodge. The Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern railway extends along this ravine and has exposed the conglomerate in some of its cuttings

The Clarinda Oil Prospect

Work has been prosecuted on an oil prospect about six miles south of Clarinda since November of 1928. A part of the record of strata is given in volume XXXIII of the reports of the Iowa Geological Survey. Since the publication of that report the well has been deepened somewhat. A description of the strata penetrated will be given and comparison will be made with the new well at Greenfield to the north and with the oil prospect at Nebraska City to the west

Some Fundamental Concepts of Earth History

We have been accustomed to think, most of us, that in the early days of the world\u27s geologic history Nature manifested herself in forms different from those with which we are familiar; that God, the supreme Power of the universe, employed other types of energy than those by means of which He works today. And these conceptions have been fostered and influenced very largely, consciously or unconsciously, by our religions and theological training

The History of Boyer Valley

One of the largest streams of the Missouri slope in Iowa, and one of much importance in its influence on topography is Boyer River. This streams takes its rise in the Kansan uplands south of Storm Lake, flows a little east of south across Sac county past the town of Wall Lake where it turns abruptly southwest. In this direction it crosses Crawford County, which it divides into practically equal parts. In its course across Crawford county Boyer valley is of the normal mature type but in southern Sac there opens into the valley from the northeast a broad sag which extends southwestward from Wall Lake. Digitate alluvial plains also extend several miles up the valley of the Boyer above the mouth of this sag and up the valleys of two tributaries from the eastern flank of the high ridge east of Odebolt. The flat undrained sag, although it is two or three times as wide as Boyer valley at Herring or Boyer, is nevertheless a direct continuation of it. On the other hand the present course of Boyer River north of the sag is out of line and out of harmony with the valley below

The Pleistocene of Capitol Hill

The Pleistocene exposures on Capitol Hill at Des Moines have become classic through the studies made by McGee and Call which demonstrated the presence of glacial drift overlying loess. The results of these studies were published in the American Journal of Science, Volume 24, 1882, pp. 202-223

The Address of the President - Our Underground Geology

Before I begin the serious discussion of this topic may I make a few explanatory statements? In the first place I realize that the title I have chosen is misleading in that it may convey the impression that we geologists are, or think we are, thoroughly familiar with the strata beneath our feet. As a matter of fact we know little more than the bare outlines of the facts regarding these strata and many years and much labor will be needed for completing their study as thoroughly as must ultimately be done. But I am devoted to brief titles, and I prefer to explain my thesis in the body of my address rather than in its title

Stone Axes from Adel

Last fall (1924) while a workman at the plant of the Adel Clay Products Company was digging a trench at the south edge of the shale pit he uncovered three stone objects having the general shape of so-called Indian axes. During the following winter Mr. H. R. Straight of the Company while in Washington, D.C., took the two smaller stones to the Smithsonian Institution and submitted them to inspection by Drs. J. W. Fewkes and Neil M. Judd. They pronounced them to be genuine artifacts and requested Dr. J. W. Gidley of the National Museum to go to Adel and examine the locality at which the artifacts had been found. Doctor Gidley asked the writer to accompany him, a courtesy with which he was glad to comply. The visit to Adel was made on April 4, 1925, and at that time Mr. Straight showed us the three objects and took us for an inspection of the shale pit. The writer also visited the pit on May 2 and made a further study of the deposits