Stratigraphy and Depositional Environment of the Elgin Sandstone (Pennsylvanian) in South-Central Kansas

Abstract

The Elgin sandstone, a unit in the Kanwaka Shale (Virgilian, Upper Pennsylvanian), crops out in south-central Kansas. Distribution of the Elgin, which ranges from 0 to 180 feet in thickness, indicates that it was deposited in a shallow-marine to marginal-marine environment controlled by the distributary pattern of a large delta complex. Major source of the material for the clastic wedge was from the south in the Arbuckle-Ouachita Mountain area. Distribution of the Elgin Sandstone seemingly was not influenced by the algal limestone buildups f the underlying Plattsmouth Limestone Member of the Oread Limestone, although the basal shales of the Kanwaka reflect the presence of these buildups.