Location
Nelson Horatio Darton
Topics
Description
In 1899, Darton, an early geologist with the USGS, proposed the name “Ogallala Formation” for a sand and gravel strata underlying much of the High Plains, including the Texas Panhandle. While this insight showed that this water-bearing resource was vast in extent, his research also showed that its areal extent and saturated thickness could certainly be measured. The Ogallala was not “secret, occult and concealed” as the common law held (Houston & T.C. Ry. Co. v. East, 98 Texas 146 (1904)). In this way, Darton demonstrated that the Ogallala, while large, was finite, and that aggressive pumping could drain it.
Location Notes
A marker recognizing Darton could be placed in Palo Duro Canyon State Park, at the visitor's center, near the CCC overlook, at 11450 State Highway Park Road 5, Canyon, Texas. From there a visitor can see the white/tan Ogallala Formation, with the red/orange, yellow "Spanish skirts" Quartermaster and Tecovas shales forming the base of the Ogallala. In this way, the limits of the aquifer and its water resource can be seen.