Chert

Chert from the Flint Hills
Gray chert in tan limestone in Chase County.

 

Commonly called flint, chert is a fine-grained, noncrystalline sedimentary rock made up of silicon dioxide (SiO2). (The mineral quartz has the same chemical formula.) Chert layers are commonly found in eastern Kansas, occurring as irregular beds or rounded nodules within limestone formations. Chert is harder than limestone and is thus more resistant to erosion. The chert-topped hills in the Flint Hills resulted from this uneven erosion of the landscape.

Resources

Buchanan, R., 2010, Kansas Geology: An Introduction to Landscapes, Rocks, Minerals, and Fossils (2nd ed.): Lawrence, Kansas, University Press of Kansas, 240 p.

Buchanan, R., and McCauley, J. R., 2010, Roadside Kansas: A Traveler's Guide to Its Geology and Landmarks (2nd ed.): Lawrence, Kansas, University Press of Kansas, 392 p.

Kansas Rocks and Minerals, Kansas Geological Survey Educational Series 2