86 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. 



THE PHOSPHATE DEPOSITS OF THE SOUTHERN 



STATES. 



The Southern States at the present time are pre-eminently the 

 source of phosphate rock in the United States, the total rock mined 

 elsewhere in America being not more than 10,000 or 11,000 tons 

 per annum. In fact this section contributes fully one-half of the 

 phosphate rock of the world. The production from the United 

 States in 1913 was 3,111,221 long tons, all of which, with the 

 exception of 5,053 tons, was from the southern states.* 



DESCRIPTION OF DEPOSITS BY STATES. 



The phosphate deposits of the Southern States are widely dis- 

 tributed. Those states that are actively producing rock are : 

 Arkansas, Tennessee, South Carolina and Florida. At least five 

 other states, namely, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia 

 and Alabama are known to have phosphates or phosphatic marls 

 of value to agriculture. The Kentucky deposits are being worked 

 to a limited extent, and in former years a limited amount of rock 

 was mined in North Carolina and in Alabama. The phosphates 

 of Georgia have been partially prospected, while those of Virginia 

 are of recent discovery. In preparing an account of these different 

 deposits, the writer has necessarily drawn upon the many excellent 

 papers relating to the phosphate deposits of the Southern States 

 by various writers, to whom he acknowledges his indebtedness. 



SOUTH CAROLINA. 



The phosphates of South Carolina Occur as a nodular and pebbly 

 stratum lying upon a phosphatic marl. The phosphate stratum has 

 a thickness of from 6 to 14 inches. The phosphate rock, as seen 

 after being washed, includes light colored irregular pieces, dark 

 bluish black irregular pieces, small flattened black phosphatic peb- 

 bles, and phosphatic casts of shells. The overburden at the mine 

 examined by the writer showed a depth of from 6 to 18 feet con- 

 sisting of residual materials, largely sand and clay. 



The South Carolina deposits are of much interest as having 

 been the first phosphates mined in America. In fact, the begin- 



*The Production of Phosphate Rock in 1913, By W. C. Phalen. Mineral 

 Resources of the United States, Pt. II, p. 273, 1914. 



