In north-central Kansas, where woodlands are sparse and prairies expansive, rows of creamy-buff, brown-striped stone fence posts grace the landscape. These stately posts are shaped from the native rock known as Fencepost limestone, or simply post rock. Now tourist attractions, the posts are also regional trademarks that bespeak the resourcefulness of early Kansas settlers.Land of the Post Rock is a story of north-central Kansas and its people, and their relationship to the post rock. The authors weave together regional geology, geography, and economics with local history and pioneer folklore to describe how post rock shaped the area's development. They have recorded the story of a unique aspect of Mid-American heritage.Post rock played a vital role as the central Kansas upland evolved from a treeless grassland to an area of cultivated farms. Obliged to find a substitute for post timber, early settlers began turning back the sod and splitting posts from the rock layer that for hundreds of centuries had lain dormant. The rock became a central factor in the development of that segment of the plains as dugouts and sod houses gave way to substantial dwellings constructed of stone.This book contains a generous amount of local oral history. The authors traveled the region collecting stories about the early settlers' dependence on post rock to survive on prairie homesteads. Here, too, is ethnic history. Details are provided on the backgrounds, talent, and personalities of the European immigrants who settled the area and used the rock.Those who are curious about the physical nature of post rock and how it was formed will find answers in this book. The authors explain how the rock was quarried, how stone posts were set, and how post rock was prepared for buildings and other structures.The volume is illustrated with numerous black-and-white photographs, maps, and charts, as well as ten full-color photographs of post-rock scenes and structures. It can serve as a guide for interested explorers, because it includes specific information on where post-rock artifacts and buildings my be observed today. It is a major contribution to the preservation of the post-rock landscape and heritage.

Clays and Clay Minerals, Volume 8 contains the proceedings of the Eighth National Conference on Clays and Clay Minerals held in Norman, Oklahoma, on October 11-14, 1959 and sponsored by the Clay Minerals Committee of the National Academy of Sciences—National Research Council in cooperation with the University of Oklahoma. The papers explore research findings as well as problems related to clays and clay minerals in many diverse disciplines. This volume is comprised of 22 chapters and begins with a description of clays and clay minerals present in Wichita Mountain area, southwestern Oklahoma, followed by an analysis of the correlations of kaolinite crystallinity with chemical and physical properties. An evaluation of the amount and distribution of montmorillonite in some kaolins found in Georgia and South Carolina is then presented. Subsequent chapters focus on the geology, mineralogy, and genesis of selected fireclays from Latah County, Idaho; chemical weathering of layer silicate clays in loess-derived Tama silt loam of southwestern Wisconsin; possible uses of clay minerals in the search for oil; and a geochemical method for determining paleosalinity. The final chapter presents the results of a mineralogical analysis of soil clays involving vermiculite-chlorite-kaolinite differentiation. This book will appeal to geologists, geochemists, and mineralogists.

Clays and Clay Minerals, Volume 5 contains the proceedings of the Seventh National Conference on Clays and Clay Minerals held in Washington, D.C., on October 20-23, 1958. The papers explore developments in clays and clay mineralogy and cover topics such as differential settling tendencies of clay minerals in saline waters; effect of seawater on clay minerals; clay mineralogy of bottom sediments; relationships in the montmorillonite group of clay minerals; and water content of vermiculite. Advances in X-ray diftractometry of clay minerals are also discussed. This book is comprised of 23 chapters and begins with an analysis of differential settling velocities of individual clay mineral types and clay mineral mixtures in quiet saline water. The reader is then introduced to rapid dissolution of allophane and kaolinite-halloysite after dehydration; formation of chlorite-like structures from montmorillonite; regional clay mineral patterns in the Gulf of Mexico; and quantitative X-ray determinations of some aluminous clay minerals in rocks. The geology of clay deposits in parts of Washington and Idaho is also examined, along with the influence of exchangeable cations on the viscosity of clay suspensions. The final chapter presents the results of X-ray analysis of soil colloids by a modified salted paste method. This volume will be of value to earth scientists, mineralogists, and those interested in clays.

In north-central Kansas, where woodlands are sparse and prairies expansive, rows of creamy-buff, brown-striped stone fence posts grace the landscape. These stately posts are shaped from the native rock known as Fencepost limestone, or simply post rock. Now tourist attractions, the posts are also regional trademarks that bespeak the resourcefulness of early Kansas settlers.Land of the Post Rock is a story of north-central Kansas and its people, and their relationship to the post rock. The authors weave together regional geology, geography, and economics with local history and pioneer folklore to describe how post rock shaped the area's development. They have recorded the story of a unique aspect of Mid-American heritage.Post rock played a vital role as the central Kansas upland evolved from a treeless grassland to an area of cultivated farms. Obliged to find a substitute for post timber, early settlers began turning back the sod and splitting posts from the rock layer that for hundreds of centuries had lain dormant. The rock became a central factor in the development of that segment of the plains as dugouts and sod houses gave way to substantial dwellings constructed of stone.This book contains a generous amount of local oral history. The authors traveled the region collecting stories about the early settlers' dependence on post rock to survive on prairie homesteads. Here, too, is ethnic history. Details are provided on the backgrounds, talent, and personalities of the European immigrants who settled the area and used the rock.Those who are curious about the physical nature of post rock and how it was formed will find answers in this book. The authors explain how the rock was quarried, how stone posts were set, and how post rock was prepared for buildings and other structures.The volume is illustrated with numerous black-and-white photographs, maps, and charts, as well as ten full-color photographs of post-rock scenes and structures. It can serve as a guide for interested explorers, because it includes specific information on where post-rock artifacts and buildings my be observed today. It is a major contribution to the preservation of the post-rock landscape and heritage.

Clays and Clay Minerals, Volume 8 contains the proceedings of the Eighth National Conference on Clays and Clay Minerals held in Norman, Oklahoma, on October 11-14, 1959 and sponsored by the Clay Minerals Committee of the National Academy of Sciences—National Research Council in cooperation with the University of Oklahoma. The papers explore research findings as well as problems related to clays and clay minerals in many diverse disciplines. This volume is comprised of 22 chapters and begins with a description of clays and clay minerals present in Wichita Mountain area, southwestern Oklahoma, followed by an analysis of the correlations of kaolinite crystallinity with chemical and physical properties. An evaluation of the amount and distribution of montmorillonite in some kaolins found in Georgia and South Carolina is then presented. Subsequent chapters focus on the geology, mineralogy, and genesis of selected fireclays from Latah County, Idaho; chemical weathering of layer silicate clays in loess-derived Tama silt loam of southwestern Wisconsin; possible uses of clay minerals in the search for oil; and a geochemical method for determining paleosalinity. The final chapter presents the results of a mineralogical analysis of soil clays involving vermiculite-chlorite-kaolinite differentiation. This book will appeal to geologists, geochemists, and mineralogists.

Clays and Clay Minerals, Volume 5 contains the proceedings of the Seventh National Conference on Clays and Clay Minerals held in Washington, D.C., on October 20-23, 1958. The papers explore developments in clays and clay mineralogy and cover topics such as differential settling tendencies of clay minerals in saline waters; effect of seawater on clay minerals; clay mineralogy of bottom sediments; relationships in the montmorillonite group of clay minerals; and water content of vermiculite. Advances in X-ray diftractometry of clay minerals are also discussed. This book is comprised of 23 chapters and begins with an analysis of differential settling velocities of individual clay mineral types and clay mineral mixtures in quiet saline water. The reader is then introduced to rapid dissolution of allophane and kaolinite-halloysite after dehydration; formation of chlorite-like structures from montmorillonite; regional clay mineral patterns in the Gulf of Mexico; and quantitative X-ray determinations of some aluminous clay minerals in rocks. The geology of clay deposits in parts of Washington and Idaho is also examined, along with the influence of exchangeable cations on the viscosity of clay suspensions. The final chapter presents the results of X-ray analysis of soil colloids by a modified salted paste method. This volume will be of value to earth scientists, mineralogists, and those interested in clays.