THE MINERAL RESOURCES OF PRINCE 

 GEORGE'S COUNTY 



By 

 BENJAMIN L. MILLER. 



Introductory. 



The mineral resources of Prince George's County are neither 

 extensive nor especially valuable, but the county contains some 

 deposits that are of considerable economic importance, although they 

 have not hitherto been very largely worked. Among the most impor- 

 tant are clays, sands, gravels, building stone, glauconitic and shell 

 marls, diatomaceous earth, and iron ore. In addition the soils con- 

 tribute much to the value of the region, which is primarily an agri- 

 cultural one, and abundant supplies of water, readily obtainable in 

 almost every portion of the county, form a further part of its mineral 

 wealth. 



The Natural Deposits, 

 the clays. 



Xext to the soils the clays constitute the most valuable economic 

 deposits of Prince George's County. As already stated in the dis- 

 cussion of the stratigraphy of the region, several of the formations 

 contain considerable quantities of clay. These argillaceous beds are 

 rather generally distributed throughout the county, but, so far as 

 known, have in recent years been worked only in the vicinity of 

 Washington. In colonial days bricks were made at a number of 

 points throughout the region. The clays are found in each series of 

 deposits represented in the region. For convenience they may be 



