Get Kansas Geological Survey - Kgs Ku

The bedrock geology includes layers of limestone—some with embedded chert, or flint—mudstone, and shale representative of the Flint Hills.

The Survey was established at the University of Kansas (KU) in 1889, with the expressed purpose of making "a complete geological survey of the state of Kansas, giving special attention to any and all natural products of economic importance." For 100 years, the Kansas Geological Survey has been doing just that.

By studying these issues, geologists, along with other scientists, can anticipate earth's future and examine any changes that may need to be made. A key example of this is the study of climate change and how society needs to change to improve the earth's future.

The USGS provides science about the natural hazards that threaten lives and livelihoods; the water, energy, minerals, and other natural resources we rely on; the health of our ecosystems and environment; and the impacts of climate and land-use change.

The history of geology dates back to the 4th century in ancient Greece. Gradually over the centuries, various advances were made including the study of fossils to date the earth, and the study of mineral and mineral ores in the 17th and 18th centuries, respectively.

Rock that crops out in the US state of Kansas was formed during the Phanerozoic eon, which consists of three geologic eras: the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Paleozoic rocks at the surface in Kansas are primarily from the Mississippian, Pennsylvanian, and Permian periods.

Nationally, Kansas ranks as the 9th largest oil producing state and 14th largest natural gas producing state.

The dominant regional structure is the Prairie Plains monocline of post-Permian pre-Cretaceous age. The surface rocks in Johnson County dip northwestward at an average rate of about 12 feet per mile. The regional structure is modified across the central part of the county by the northeast-trending Gardner anticline.