COAL. 181 



In the Amour Littoral region, coal deposits occur l)eyond the Baikal, . directly on 

 the south-eastern shore of this vast reservoir. Here at eight versts distance from the Posolsk 

 monastery there are two coal seams, between the rivers Kourkoushevka and Pereemua. The 

 upper seam, which is IV2 sagenes thick, is broken up into thin seams and contains 

 the stems and roots of fossil trees. The lower coal seam, which lies two sagenes below the 

 upper, on a level with the water, consists of a denser coal. The coal of this deposit is 

 worked for supplying the Baikal steamboats with fuel, but the production is very limited. 

 Besides this deposit, coal has been discovered near the Baikal, at the mouth of the river 

 Mourin. The presence of coal seams is also known between Yerkhneoudinsk and Selen- 

 ginsk on the banks of lake Gousinyi; and the traces of their having been burnt are 

 still in the superincumbent strata of sandstone and schistose clay. The occurence of coal 

 was discovered in 1858, on the river Ourya, which falls into the Aksha, a tributary of the 

 Onon. This is a lignite coal, which in some places still exhibits a tree structure. The 

 Douroisk and Chalbouchinsk deposits on the river Argouna are situated at a distance of 

 160 versts from one another. The Chalbouchinsk deposit was discovered in 1742. Both 

 of these deposits have been frequently explored, but the extent of neither has been 

 accurately determined. The Douroisk deposit is situated on the bank of the Argouna, 15 

 versts below the Koulassatouev frontier station. A seam of good quality coal 3^2 feet 

 thick is known here. Should subsequent explorings show that this coal seam has a con- 

 siderable extension, then it might acquire a great importance, as it is situated on the 

 very bank of the river Argouna, along which the coal could easily be transported to the 

 Amour. 



Numerous exploratory workings, carried on since the middle of the last century, have shown 

 the presence of several coal seams in the Chalbouchinsk deposit; but the small thickness 

 of these seams and large amount of ash and sulphur pyrites in the coal, deprive it of any 

 great importance. 



Besides these deposits, seams of brown coal of recent formation occur in the Transbaikal 

 on the upper courses of the river Onon, and also on the Shilka below the Shilkin works. 

 The occurrence of coal is known on the river Zea on the parallels of Albazina and on the 

 Belyi hills opposite the mouth of the Silindzha. From three to four coal seams crop out on 

 the river Boureya. These seams are vertical owing to the extreme distortion of the entire 

 stratification. Each of these seams is from one to two feet thick, and the coal is of good 

 quality. The coal is interstratified with sandstone and clay slate, the latter of which bears 

 distinct prints of conifer vegetation, showing that the formation belongs to the Jurassic 

 system. The same strata of sandstone and clay slate with interlayers of coal up to 1 foot 

 thick, are found at a distance of 150 versts from the above mentioned outcrops, in several 

 localities up to the mouth of the Xuman. 



Among the very many coal deposits on the middle courses of the Amour, the most 

 remarkable is that discovered at a distance of 9 versts above the station of Innokentievsk, 

 where two seams of brown coal can be followed up for a distance of two versts. These 

 seams lie between beds of sandstone and hard, yellowish gray clay. The coal seams are from 

 3 to 5 feet thick. This coal consists of the remains of conifer trees, and the superincum- 



