Fencepost limestone
Fencepost limestone, Post Rock limestone, or Stone Post is a stone bed in the Great Plains notable for its historic use as fencing and construction material in north-central Kansas resulting in unique cultural expression. The source of this stone is the topmost layer of the Greenhorn Limestone formation. It is a regional marker bed as well as a valued construction material of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Kansas. This stone was very suitable for early construction in treeless settlements and it adds a notable rust orange tint to the region's many historic stone buildings. But the most famous use is seen in the countless miles of stone posts lining country roads and highways. This status gives rise to such regional appellations as Stone Post Country, Post Rock Scenic Byway, and The Post Rock Capital of Kansas. This rustic quality finds Fencepost limestone still used in Kansas landscaping today.
| Fencepost limestone | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Turonian ~ | |
Limestone endpost with leaner, an icon of Kansas | |
| Type | Geological marker bed |
| Unit of | Greenhorn Formation |
| Underlies | Carlile Formation |
| Overlies | Uppermost beds of the Greenhorn Formation |
| Thickness | 9–14 inches (0.23–0.36 m) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Chalky limestone (coccolithic) |
| Other | Microsparry calcite matrix Inoceramus shells and fragments Yellow, orange, or brown stainings and nodules of Limonite |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Extent | Outcrops from the Nebraska border near Mahaska, Kansas, about 200 miles southwest to a few miles from Dodge City, Kansas. Recorded in well logs throughout the High Plains. |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Use as stone fenceposts |
| Named by | F. W. Cragin |
| Year defined | 1896 |