MINERALS OF THE PACIFIC LITTORAL. 399 



The coal production of British Columbia for 1906 was 1,54-1,652 

 metric tons, besides 202,424 tons of coke. On the Crow's Nest branch 

 of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the coal is all used up locally, 

 chiefly in smelting, but fui-ther west, the products of the Cascade 

 field, near Banff, beg-in to find their way to the Pacific. The coal 

 of this field is of Cretaceous age and semi-anthracitic or anthracitic. 

 There is bituminous coal on the eastern side of Vancouver Island. 

 British Columbia is the most important source of coal for consumption 

 in Califoniia, its contribution for 1900 being 766,917 short tons. It 

 also exports a considerable amount to Alaska. 



In the Pacific States of Mexico — viz., Oajaca, Michoacan, and 

 Guerrero — coal is known to exist in considerable quantities, but the 

 difficulty of transport to the coast has hitherto prevented the mines 

 l>eing seriously worked, and it is unlikely that in the near future, 

 Mexican coal mines will become serious factors in the trade of the 

 Pacific. In 1906, this country imported 74,737 long tons of coal and 

 3,245 of coke from Australia. In 1907, the coal import was only 

 50,316 tons. 



Guatemala figures in 1906 as an importer of 3,383 long tons of 

 coal from Australia, but is not a producer. 



Nicaragua possesses some coal deposits, but difficulties of labour 

 and transport, prevent their being worked. The import from Aus- 

 tralia in 1906 amounted to 1,350 tons. 



Ecuador produces no coal. In 1906 it imported 15,487 long tons 

 from Australia, but in 1907 the import had fallen to 7,519. 



Peru produced in 1906, 77,209 metric tons of coal. The produc- 

 tion is unable to meet local requirements, chiefly for smelting works. 

 In 1906 the import from Australia amounted to 109,278 long tons. In 

 1007 it was 101,131 tons. 



Bolivia is not a producer of coal, and does not appear in the list 

 of importers from Australia. Its great mining industries, however, 

 make it almost certain that it must import coal or coke. Probably it 

 is supplied from British Columbia. 



Chile produced in 1905, 793,927 metric tons of coal, the coalfields 

 occuri'ing in a narrow strip of country between the Pacific and the 

 Andes, extending from the city of Concepcion to the Straits of 

 Magellan. The greater part of the production was absorbed in local 

 (chiefly mining) requirements, and 881,062 long tons were imported 

 from Australia in 1907. Yet Chile sent a considerable, amount of 

 coal to the San Francisco market, and the competition of Chilian coal 

 and oil in the market of Peru is recognised as a formidable detriment 

 to the importation of Australian coal. 



On the Western shores of the Pacific, coal occurs in the island 

 of Saghalien. Some mines were worked by Russian convict labour, 

 the output (which is not large) going to the bunkering of steamers. 



Japan has extensive coalfields, and produced in 1906, 12,980,103 

 metric tons, or 48 per cent, more than Australia. In 1907 the pro- 

 duction had advanced to 15,362,467 tons. The coal, however, is of 

 Tertiary and Cretaceous age, and for the most part is of a bituminous 



