Emporia Formation

The Emporia Formation, also referred to as Emporia Limestone, is a Late-Carboniferous geologic formation in Kansas, extending into Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Oklahoma.^[2][1]

Emporia Formation Emporia Limestone
Stratigraphic range: [1]Gzhelian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ (Virgilian stage)[2]
Parallel jointing in the hard Elmont Limestone at Pillsbury Crossing
Type	Formation
Unit of	Wabaunsee Group Oklahoma: Vamoosa Group
Sub-units	Elmont Limestone Harvyville Shale Reading Limestone
Underlies	Willard Shale
Overlies	Auburn Shale
Lithology
Primary	Limestone, shale
Other	Sandstone
Location
Region	Kansas
Country	United States
Type section
Named for	Emporia, Kansas
Named by	R.C. Moore and M.R. Mudge[2]
Year defined	1956

This formation's members are, top to bottom,

• Elmont Limestone, named for Elmont, Kansas (Beede, 1898)^[3]
• Harveyville Shale, named for Harveyville, Kansas (Moore, 1936)^[4]
• Reading Limestone, named for Reading, Kansas (Moore, 1936)^[5]

While the Elmont Limestone member is generally less than 3 feet thick (1 meter), it can be as thick as 15 feet (5 meters)^[3] and as thin as 12 inches. As thin as that, it is particularly resistant and forms multiple waterfalls within a few miles along Deep Creek in southern Riley County, including Pillsbury Crossing.^[6][7] At Pillsbury Crossing, the Elmont Limestone is seen with parallel joints (pictured); and where not thickly covered with algae, the surface shows curious parallelogram patterns.

See also

• Earth sciences portal
• Kansas portal
• Paleontology portal

• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Kansas
• Paleontology in Kansas