ABSTRACTS 



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GEOLOGY. — Oil shale of the Uinta Basin, northeastern Utah, and results 

 of dry distillation of miscellaneous shale samples. Dean E. Win- 

 chester. U. S. Gcol. Survey Bull. 691-B. Pp. 27-55, with maps, 

 sections, and illustrations. 1918. 

 The geography and geology of the oil shale are described, and the results 

 of many distillations tests are given, which show yields of oil up to 90 

 gallons per ton of shale. A great many of the samples tested carried 

 from 20 to 30 gallons of oil per ton of shale. There seems to be ample 

 proof that the oil distilled from the oil shale of the Green River formation 

 is largely obtained as a result of the destruction of the partly bituminized 

 vegetable matter contained in the shale. Invariably the shale showing 

 the larger percentage of vegetable debris will yield the most oil and vice 

 versa, but shale beds occurring between beds of rich oil shale may be 

 full}' as compact and fine grained and yet yield no oil on distillation. 

 There appears to be no reason why oil migrating into the shales should 

 not penetrate all alike, and the oil might be expected to follow the beds 

 of least resistance — that is the coarser beds of sandstone which are 

 interbedded with the shales. It seems certain that if the oil had mi- 

 grated into the shale such porous sands would contain at least small 

 quantities of oil that might be obtained by distillation. 



It is probable that the oil shales of the Green River formation may 

 have been the source of all the vein hydrocarbons of the Uinta Basin 

 as well as of the asphaltic material that saturates certain sandstones of 

 the region. 



R. W. Stone. 



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