Boulder of cherty dolomite from the Boone Chert of Mississippian age--the host rock for the ores. |
Substantial amounts of concrete structures remain in the area, the concrete being made with chat. |
Drainageway from chat piles to nearby wetland. |
Concrete ore-separation tank near Commerce. |
Wetlands draining mined areas south of Picher. The water table is within a few feet of land surface in much of the District. |
Pond in chat may be a shallow depression or may be underlain by an open mineshaft. Subsidence is common in the area. |
Chat commonly consists of boulders or fine particles ranging in size from small gravel to silt. |
Chat has been used as aggregate for paved and unpaved roads in the area and perhaps on roads as far away as St. Louis and Oklahoma City. |
Although this may appear to be a small pile of chat overlying a thin layer of chat, this 40-acre area near Picher is covered by a layer of chat 10-15 ft thick. |
Surficial portions of chat piles are generally friable, but internal portions of the piles commonly become lithified. |
Aside from scattered grasses and stunted trees, many parts of the area resemble a moonscape. |
Nestled amongst these chat piles is a baseball field. |
Another view of baseball field near Picher. |
An old picnic site at the foot of a large chat pile. |
The Picher mining district was known as "The Hay Capital of the World" prior to mining. |