Teter Rock is a slab of limestone that is upended and juts out of the top of one of the Flint Hills in beautiful Greenwood County. The original was a pile of rocks placed by James Teter sometime in the late 1870’s or early 1880’s. Pioneers often got lost in the rolling hills and so Mr. Teter placed the simple marker to guide the pioneers west to the Cottonwood River. A descendent of Mr. Teter erected this monolith in 1954 at the sight of the original marker and is a sight to behold.
The monolith is amazing, but so is the view from the top of the hill it presides over. Do a 360 and take in the view. These native grassland hills are a Kansas treasure. Have you ever wondered how the Flint Hills were formed?
The Earth is estimated to be about 4.5 billion years old by scientists, so technically the Flint Hills took this long to be formed, but their main formation period was during the Permian Period about 290-250 million years ago. During that time shallow inland seas advanced and receded. The effect was a layering of sedimentary rocks. This layering is called “layer-cake stratigraphy.” These layers are composed primarily of alternating layers of shale, limestone, and sandstone. Limestone was formed in deeper waters where layers of marine animal shells collected, and shales, or hardened clay or silt deposits, were formed in shallower waters or slightly above sea level. Sandstones were formed by non-marine bodies like rivers or lakes.
In fact, scientists have observed a regular pattern of deposits in this area of the Flint Hills known as the Osage Cuestas. Generally it layers sandstone, shale, limestone, shale, sandstone. Geologists theorize that one set of these layers signifies one cycle of advancing and receding. This points to the seas being shallow with a relatively flat floor. That meant that small changes in depth would cause drastic changes in the size of the sea and shoreline.
The limestone in the Flint Hills contains a high level of chert, also known as flint. This rock is a silicate, like quartz and is highly resistant to erosion. Thus erosion forces take away layers of soft shale and sandstone layers, leaving the limestone layers containing the flint.
Take another look around. Notice the way the hills are formed. Generally, the hills have one side that is quite steep, and the other side gently slopes. The geological term for this is “cuesta scarp” or escarpments. The Osage Cuestas cover a large area of central and southeastern Kansas:
Notice the hill you are standing on. What direction does the steep side face? This is generally true for the Flint Hills. The basement rock layers underneath the limestone and shale layers were laid down in the Pennsylvanian through Mississippian eras (354-290 million years ago) and slope westward. When erosive conditions carved the hills, these layers were exposed. See the illustration below:
Illustrations by Jennifer Sims, Kansas Geological Survey
In order to log this cache, you must complete the following exercises and email us through geocaching.com the answers to #1 and #2, and the option of posting #3 with your log:
1) At the cattle guard entrance to the site, take an elevation reading. Then take another while standing at the base of the monument (please do not try to climb the monument!) What is the difference in elevation?
2) Many visitors before you have carved things on the rock. (Please do not do this!) What initials are carved on the west edge of the stone?
3) OPTIONAL STEP, take a picture of you in front of the monument.