Geologic units in Lancaster county, Nebraska

Dakota Group (Early Cretaceous) at surface, covers 69 % of this area

Upper part is white, light-gray, brownish-gray, yellow, redish-brown, and red sandstone and shale. Sandstone is very fine to coarse grained, friable, micaeous, crossbedded, and lenticular; locally contains gravel near base. contains numerous zones of ironstone and siltstone concretions of variable thickness. Middle part is light-gray, yellow, red brown and dark-gray, sandy carbonaceous shale; commonly contains a zone of concretions near top. Lower part is sandstone similar to that in upper except there are zones of siderite concretions and, locally a basal zone of chert pebbles. Approx. max thickness 600 ft.

Council Grove Group (Permian) at surface, covers 19 % of this area

Shale and interbedded limestone. Shale is gray, green, red, reddish brown, or maroon, sandy, calcareous, fossiliferous, locally fissile; several fissile black shale beds are in lower 75 feet. Interbedded dark- to light-gray, medium- to thick-bedded, argillaceous, cherty limestone beds are very fossiliferous and locally contain shale partings. Approx. max thickness 300 ft

Wabaunsee Group (Late Pennsylvanian - Virgilian) at surface, covers 6 % of this area

Shale, sandstone, and interbedded limestone. Shale is light gray to dark gray, greenish gray, red, or black; contains very thin layers of siltstone; locally very fossiliferous, carbonaceous. Sandstone is brownish gray to yellowish gray, or gray, argillaceous , and micaceous. Limestone is dark gray to medium gray, yellowish gray, thin bedded to thick bedded; very fossiliferous. Contains coal beds less than 1 ft. thick. Approx. max thickness 300 ft

Admire Group (Permian) at surface, covers 5 % of this area

Shale and interbedded limestone. Shale is dark gray to light gray, brown, red, or green, sandy, calcareous, and fossiliferous. Interbedded dark- to light-gray, very thin to medium bedded, argillaceous, very fossiliferous limestone beds. Near top of unit a fine-grained, micaceous sandstone bed underlies a stromatolite limestone bed which has distinctive lobate bedding. Approx. max thickness 150 ft

Shawnee Group (Late Pennsylvanian - Virgilian) at surface, covers 2 % of this area

Limestone, shale and siltstone. Limestone is dark gray to very light gray, yellowish gray, very thin bedded to massive bedded, and fossiliferous; locally the thin bedds are argillaceous other beds are oolitic and a few contain chert. Shale is medium gray, greenish gray, pale red, dark redish brown, black, sandy fossiliferous and calcareous; black shale in part is fissile. Siltstone is light gray to greenish yellow, massive, calcareous; locally sandy. Approx. max thickness 200 ft

Greenhorn Limestone and Graneros Shale (Late Cretaceous) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Greenhorn Limestone- medium- to light-gray limestone interbedded with argillaceous limestone, marl and calcareous shale; contains Inoceramus fossils. Upper and lower contacts gradational. Approx. max thickness 30 ft. Graneros Shale- medium- to dark-gray, partly calcareous shale. Interbeds of siltstone, sandstone, and carbonaceous shale, and thin bentonite layers in upper part. Approx. max thickness 60 ft.