Statistical Analysis of Physiographic and Structural Directional Data in the U.S. Midcontinent (Kansas)
 
Daniel F. Merriam¹ and John C. Davis².  (1) Kansas Geological Survey, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66047, (2) DAVCON, Box 353, Baldwin City, Kansas 66006-0353  [email protected]

Kansas, located in the stable U.S. midcontinent, exhibits a variety of physiographic and structural directional features. The direction of river valleys, fractures including joints and faults, lineaments, anticlinal axes, and geophysical anomalies are analyzed to determine their relation to each other and what could be interpreted from these data about the structure and structural development of Kansas. The direction of each feature was measured on surface or on subsurface maps and statistically compared. Although each measured property has slightly different directions, several trends are recognized. In general, three directions are dominant: northeast, east-northeast, and northwest.

Key Words: Trends, orientation data, statistics, rose diagrams, joints, fractures, faults, plains-type anticlines, geophysical anomalies, topographic features, lineaments