166 STEVENSON— INTERRELATIONS OF THE FOSSIL FUELS. 



farther west, in the Ladd area, where dips vary from 32 to 40 

 degrees, the coal varies from anthracite to bituminous, both coking 

 and non-coking; but in the Mendota-Chehalis area, about 30 miles 

 farther west, the coal is sub-bituminous. Some of the beds in this 

 latter area are more than 9 feet thick ; the coal is massive, banded 

 and, in some mines, is on the border line between sub-bituminous 

 and lignite. The dips are from 12 to 54 degrees, mostly above 30. 

 At jNIendota, where the coal is grayish-black and low grade sub- 

 bituminous, irregular lenses of soft, cannel-like coal are present. 

 When freshly mined, these are black, but they quickly become brown 

 on exposure. They contain so much volatile matter that when 

 ignited by a match they burn like cannel with a long smoky flame. 



In the northern part of Pierce county, 30 to 50 miles north from 

 the Ladd area of Lewis, mining operations are extensive. Two beds 

 at Burnett have laminated, good bituminous coking coal, which has 

 been utilized in manufacture of illuminating gas. The dip is 45 

 degrees. At Pittsburg, two beds with dip of 58 to 60 degrees are 

 mined and yield bituminous but non-coking coal. At Wilkeson, three 

 beds, with dips of 20 to 60 degrees in different parts of the same 

 mines, give a bituminous coking coal, well laminated, with varying 

 ash in the several benches. The jointing is close and there is not 

 much lump coal. At Carbonado, 12 beds have been worked, all of 

 them more or less broken by partings and with dip of from 20 to 

 60 degrees. The coal is dense and bituminous, comparing very 

 favorably with good bituminous coal from the Coal Measures. The 

 lowest three beds are described as coking. At Montezuma, the coal 

 is coking, semi-bituminous and the dips are 65 to 70 degrees. Resin 

 occurs in low-grade sub-bituminous and to some extent in the higher 

 grades within Lewis, Thurston and King counties. 



Evans made detailed study of the coals in King county. Those 

 in the western part have much moisture and are sub-bituminous, but 

 farther east the bituminous type is riot uncommon. The newer coals 

 are more nearly lignitic than those from the lower beds. Through- 

 out the whole column of about 8,000 feet, one finds great variation 

 in composition and, far too often, the ash is so abundant as to make 

 the coal worthless commercially. Several beds are quite regular in 



