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To: muawiyah
Oklahoma and Texas sit atop a vast plain of limestone on which there is a relatively thin layer of soils of different sorts.

Uh, not so much.

Old geologist speaking from memory here: The OKC area is underlain by mainly shale and sandstone/shale. The shale is essentially red clay at and near the surface. Very little limestone near the surface here. The problem with basements, etc. is the shale/clay: it is very hydrophylic, and the wet/dry spells, with the normal temperature extremes here causes havoc with foundations. In short, you can dig a basement, but keeping it intact and water tight over the next few years is not cost-effective. (I speak from experience of having one in my house in OKC years ago.) The limestone you speak of doesn't occur until you get farther south...

314 posted on 05/20/2013 7:14:24 PM PDT by LaRueLaDue
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To: LaRueLaDue

It’s all ocean bottom. http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/L/LI004.html says it’s all over the state. Remember, when you dig down through the thin soils (and anything less than 35 feet of glacial till topped by 25 feet of topsoil is ‘thin’) there’s limestone all over the place. OK doesn’t have the glacial till, but it does have plenty of ancient lakebeds and even a salt flat or two ~ but underneath it’s limestone ~


327 posted on 05/20/2013 7:25:19 PM PDT by muawiyah
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