v ' .- . s 



COAL FOHMA ! 



< w t^r^M. -n* cw-rwde at thi* division an di. 



*ad South Wales. TUc 

 leUs of AngWy ""I 



fc.- mmttl* . r smntMti ihimTml of 



: 14* rf Anglesey -At UM iiUliM of about x miU. from th 

 Mesml WtwU. and ruaainc nrty parallel to thorn. a remarkable 

 write *H .><> acme* the whole lilinit Thi* vall.y opens on the 

 Mrtfc * R-i WTrf By. and on UM loath into UM wrtuary of 

 MkiH> ; il M MW oo both a by parallel bud* of earboni 



. *'- - _ lk_ * - - * - IMAMAAA itijli, Mn^l * IHMMI 



VSjaj*. IMMSBOML HI UM OjvprMMOO MSweMI WOMB OOw ttM D**H 



probable that the oo*J-mee*ure. may extend 

 UM whole UM. Coal ha* been worked near the Maltraeth 

 : a*d a few yean *ino* abaft, were sunk in the neighbour- 

 k fl.y.naful trial* have likewue bmi made at 

 bout fin miloa north-east of the formrr pite : the 

 are .aid to be of a tolerable leioknse*, and the coals of a good 



oath from . 



D**, o near tPtry. 



L The Coal Pbld of thi* county extend, north and 

 MV UM western cap* of the actuary of the 

 y, in Shropshire, forming; an exterior belt co- 

 ve with UM range of the mountain line from the north of the 

 Clwyt Where UM earbonifaro*. limestone i* partially interrupted 

 by the mouauin of Billll/B UM ooal ahale. rest immediately on the 

 tnisjHin slate, of which that mountain is composed. (Oonybeare 

 and Phillip*, p. 419.) The sieaUst Imgth of UM dUtrict in which 

 UM Ml me*qr are ftxtn.1 i. boat thirty miles, but it muat by no 

 MMM he mNMntood that eoal i* worked throughout. At Oswesry 

 UMT* is a very small rWtached piece, not more than three mile* long 

 ad half a mil* bruad ; (her* b Uwn an interval of some miles. 

 Xear Clurk another et*l tract oomnnno**, and run* north for alnut 

 miles ; then another interval occur* ; and a little to th* north of 

 Wuifcim the principal portion begins, and thence extend* to the 

 enst, and fern* a narrow belt along it to th* termination at the 

 i of th* DM. Th* beds dip from on* yard in four to two 



I%< 6M-ir*ttm CW />i*ri<y comprehend* the several Coal-Kields 

 nor UM sMtuary of the Severn and the Bristol Channel, bMladinf 

 parte of UM adjacent counties of Gloucester, Somerset, ICoumouih, 

 and Glamorgan. Tb* various coal-fields di*tributod over thi* il 

 are apparraUy uwuUte.1, yet tiey hare neveral pointo of oouu. 

 " They all ret on on* common ba*e of old red-eand>t<ine ; they all 

 appear to hare been formed by aimilar agency and at the same era ; 

 to have been *ubject at a later period to the came rvvuln'i.m* ; ml 

 Lutly, to have been oorered partially by nniiliu- overlying deposit*." 

 (tfcoL Trana.,' roL i.) The MTeral bum* in the coal formation are 

 divided by line* termed ' anticlinal,' formed by the aaddlAt 

 - e of their vertical 



trmta or niixitingi at the luriace of 



of which the *trata dip in op|>o*ite direction*. 



I angle*, on each 



, : :... ,- .:. - ,ro 



in three, emk t mirth UM aMuary of the I)e, reappear on it* oppoalto 

 eide, aad finally aink beneath the etrate of the newer red-eanditone. 

 Thie poaiUon of UM eaal-nMMorea ha* led to the coo lecture that 



whh UM bad* of UM Lancaahire eoel-Beld. The 

 with the same strata a. those of 

 The beds of ooal vary in thickness from three quarter* 

 to In yards. In the Baggalt mine* three eam* are worked, 

 am 31 to 7 fee*. Common, oannel, and peacock coal are found 

 Coalbrook Dale Coal-Field rr.t* on transition rock : it 

 in the parallel of Wellington, to Coal 



raft, am UM Herwn, leth of about .i. mile*; Ha greatest breadth 

 W abo* two nilea. The coal measure* are co 



composed of UM usual 



- without much regularity, except that 



bod of enal ie always immediately covered by indurated or 

 lav, rntd not Vy candstoM. Th* strata are 8 in number. In 

 a shaft i. rank 728 feet through all the beds. The 

 which occur, at UM depth of 103 feet, i* very 

 not more than 4 inches thick ; nine other bed* of a 

 mOar satan. but rather thicker, occur b*tw**n thi. and the depth 

 ef SM fca*. Thi. coal i. called ' stinking ooal/ and is only employed 

 in UM tmrmmg of Km*. The flrrt seam of coal that i. worked i* 

 4M MM d*n> and 5 **H thick. Two oth- Ud. of eoal occur, one 

 10 tadMs and UM oUMr I * thick, before the bad of 'big Hint' 

 MKMOM. which i. found at UM depth of 67 feet : nine bed. of 

 e,-l MOT. of UM acrreicate thiokns*. of 16 feet, between the 'great 

 al the 'bul* flint ' bed (an interval of 100 feet). Beneath 

 UM Hub tot* and the low** bed of the whole formation then is 

 smlphnron. S inch coal This account of the etrata refer, more 



- - - BM in th Brown Cwv HiJl nn-l the 

 _-* CU. Hid. which ri~ . few mile, eouth of the Coalbrook 



"," L*" Mtor ^ U to " "r - >aUi of the fonner. 

 The aeafe . UM Brew. CUe Hill only he in thin strata, while the 

 m UMTMlerstone Clee Hill I. < feet thick. Th. 

 > CUs Hill as* tsBrsamted a* six detached 

 L Moder and mxlerrd irrrgular by a 

 lOOynnbwid*, which intersecte th. 

 > mure interesting to UM geologist than 



aftal l^ftr^^ tk^M an.1 41.. a 







i tUI Md BOB*ig**ijr on UM north to tb* 

 iri*teihiis on UM south, a length of 

 e.ng warfced in seven! pointe along t 

 ir Over ArWy, on the Srvrrn. adjoh. 

 r a *rw miles from the Rillingsl-y C...1 .field at 

 I UM Ahbsrtry HiIKh". .mall patch (rather 



beWMinJ 



I. Anticlinal line forming the emt of * bill. 3. The ume Une runninf 

 lon( UM eaure of * vallej. 



thai unDunded by exterior hands of mountain limestone and ..1.1 

 red-eandstane, m the order of the outcrop of the subjacent bed*. This 

 ilutrict include* three principal coal basins, together with HHIU 

 smaller ones, adjacent to and cloeely connected with the two last. 

 First, the South Welsh coal basin ; second, that of South Gloucester 

 and Somerset ; third, that of the Forest of Dean. 



1 . The Coal -Field of South Wales is upwards of 100 miles in length, 

 and the average breadth in the counties of Monmouth, Olatnorgati, 

 Caennarthen, and part of Brecon, i* from 18 to 20 miles ; it become* 

 much narrower in Pembrokeshire, being there only from 3 to 5 milts. 

 Thi* area extend* from Pontypool ou the east to St. Bride's 1'. 

 the west, and form* a vast basin of limestone in which all thu 

 of ooal and ironstone are ileposited. The deepest part of the bnj-in m 

 between Neath and LUnelly : from a line ranging nearly east and 

 west through Neath all the strata rue on the south towards the south, 

 and on the north towards the north, cropping out at the edges. The 

 limestone crops ont at the surface all round the coal, except where 

 its continuity is interrupted by Swansea and Caermarthen bays. 

 The depths from the surface to the various strata depend ugxiii I...- il 

 ftituations. The upper coal-seam does not extend a mile either iioitli 

 or south beyond Neath, and not many miles in an east or w< t 

 tion, and its utmost depth is not above 60 or 60 fathoms ; the next 

 stratum of ooal and those likewise beneath, being deeper, crop out .it, 

 a greater distance from the centre ; and so of the rest in pro]> 

 to their depth. The lowest bed is TOO fathoms deep at the <- 

 and all the principal strata lie from 500 fathoms deep to this <li>)>th. 

 Kut thin district is intersected by deep valleys which gem-rath run in 

 .1 north and south direction, intersecting the ctwl. li> ilrivin^ lev. 1* 

 in the hills the beds of coal are found without the labour and i-x 

 of sinking shafts ; there are also many pits in the low valleys. This 

 basin contains twelve bed* of coal from 3 to 9 feet thick, making an 

 aggregate of 704 fw * u> d there are eleven more from 18 inches to 3 

 feet, together equal to 24| feet ; the whole thickness is therefore 5 

 feet. A number of smaller seams likewise occur. On the south Hide 

 of the basin, from Pontypool to Caermarthen Bay, the ooal is prni'-i- 

 pally of a bituminous nature ; ou the north-east it is a caking coal ; 

 on the north-west, anthracitic. It is this latter com! which has the 

 greatest heating power. It is found in abundance near Swansea, and 

 is cheap. Great faults occur in this field, which traverse it gen 

 in a north and south direction, and throw the strata out < 

 40, 60, 80, or 100 fathoms. These dislocations ar. howu 



on the surface. A principal fault occur* at Cribbath, where the 

 strata of limestone stand erect; another of considerable magnitmlu 

 lie* between Ystradvellte and Penderryn. These dykes are usually 

 filled with clay, but one of some magnitude has been observed n< ir 

 Swansea, which is many fathoms wide ami filled with fragments of 

 the disrupted strata, the level of which differs by more than 21 

 The rich ironstone of this basin supplies extensive iron-works in the 

 | neighbourhood. The principal beds of ironstone occur in the l\v<-r 

 part of the coal-measure* ; the most valuable bed is found I. 

 the lowest ooal. The strata of this coal formation dip much nn.iv 

 rapidly on the south than on the north ; on the south tlicy make an 

 ancle of 45* with the horizon, and on the north dipping only 10. 

 The coal from the South Wale* basin supplies the whole of 

 with the exception of the more north.-m counties, the whole of Coin- 

 wall, and the wot. ni half of I icvon-hire. 



.'h i;i...i. n.ter and Somerset Basin. This basin occupies an 



irregular triangtilar npnoe, bounded on the south by the Aim. lip 



Hills, which are a high range of mountain limestone i. i m- on ,m 



arch of old red-nan ' i.,n.-. The vertex of the triangle in on tin- north. 



at the village of Tortwortb in Gloucestershire : the western side from 



j theUendipe to the vertex is formed by three insulated masses of high 



| land, separated by narrow intervals, the widest of which is less than 



