STEVENSON— INTERRELATIONS OF FOSSIL FUELS. 15 



Tcheremkhovo in the government of Irkutsk, shows about 65 meters 

 of friable sandstone, in which are 3 coal seams from a half meter to 

 nearly 3 meters thick. The coal is good, caking and has from 3 to 

 10 per cent, of ash, though occasionally it has more, in one case, 25 

 per cent. The sulphur is low. 



The Transsiberian railroad crosses the brown coal basin of the 

 Middle Tchoulym River between the cities of Mariinsk and Artinsk. 

 In this basin, embracing not less than 7,000 square kilometers, the 

 rocks, almost horizontal, are sands, argillaceous sands, gravels, sandy 

 or plastic clays, freshwater limestones and coal. The mass is 260 

 meters thick and contains numerous lenticular seams of brown coal. 

 These have small areal extent, the largest being 2 or 3 kilometers 

 long by a kilometer wide, but the maximum thickness in the lenses 

 is from 2 to 6 meters, though in some instances it is far greater, 14 

 meters at one locality. The coal ordinarily rests on clay, with an 

 intervening faux-mur, and passes upward into a friable coaly ma- 

 terial, resembling peat, on which rests clay or sand. This brown 

 coal is excellent, that from the mined portions of the lenses having 

 barely 3 per cent, of ash, and the quantity in this field is said to be 

 " colossal." Another area of brown coal was seen on the Upper 

 Tchoulym River, but the quality is inferior, there being at times as 

 much as 30 per cent, of ash. In other areas, farther west, some 

 seams of brown coal are very thick. In the extensive region along 

 the Angora River, the coals approach boghead in their general fea- 

 tures and they have from 10 to 34 per cent, of ash; but some of the 

 seams yield excellent caking coal. 



No Mesozoic coal is reported from the Transbaikal region, 

 where Jurassic deposits seem to be wanting ; farther east, in the 

 Upper Amur Basin, some coal seams were observed, which are thin 

 and of no economic importance ; but on the divide between the Amur 

 and the Zeia Rivers, Jurassic beds occupy a vast area and consist 

 of gray or greenish sandstones with conglomerates and coal seams. 

 Excellent coal has been obtained from a seam on the Grande-Bira 

 River. In the eastern provinces, rocks were found similar to those 

 of central Siberia, with several seams of coal, one to 2 meters thick 

 and yielding anthracitic as well as caking coals. 



