134 



The National Geographic Magazine 



drift that the coal beds are exposed. In 

 this way they are known at many local- 

 ities, and it is probable that they are 

 present in the intermediate covered areas, 

 but no one is willing to say so until more 

 prospecting has been done. When that 

 occurs it is probable that the recognized 

 area of the coal fields of Washington will 

 be greatly increased. 



The known coal fields of Alaska seem 

 to be comparatively small, having ap- 

 proximately the same area as the bi- 

 tuminous field of Alabama. Here again 

 exploration may, and probably will, in- 

 crease the area materially, especially that 

 of the low-grade lignites of the Arctic 

 slope. 



The area given for the coal fields of 

 Alabama includes only the bituminous 

 coal of Carboniferous age in the north- 

 east part of the state. In addition to this, 

 as shown by the map on page 135, there 

 is a wide band of Hgnite-bearing Tertiary 

 rocks crossing the southern part of the 

 state. These rocks are known to contain 

 beds of lignite, but in the presence of 

 high-grade bituminous coal the lignite 

 has never been explored, . and conse- 

 quently the number of beds, their thick- 

 ness and extent, are not known. It is 

 possible that when the supply of better 

 fuel is exhausted, or has fallen belo^v the 

 demand, the lignite field may be found to 

 contain an important supply of fuel. 



DISTRIBUTION OF COAL IN THE WEST 



The eastern coal fields have been 

 known and worked for so many years 

 that most persons are fairly well ac- 

 quainted with their extent, the character 

 of the coal, and the number of workable 

 beds. In the western states some of the 

 coal fields are comparatively well known, 

 but many have never been adequately 

 explored, and consequently the informa- 

 tion available regarding them is meager. 

 So far as our present knowledge goes, 

 the distribution of the various classes of 

 coal in the western states is as follows : 



Anthracite. — -Only small areas of an- 

 thracite coal have been found in the 

 western states and Alaska. Generally 



these are the direct result of volcanic 

 activity, and hence are of limited geo- 

 graphical extent. 



The largest field of anthracite coal in 

 the western states is in Gunnison County, 

 Colorado, in the Crested Butte region. 

 Apparently the anthracite in this field is 

 the result of immense intrusions of ig- 

 neous rock, which have baked the coal 

 and thus driven off its volatile matter. 

 The same coal beds only a short distance 

 away are either bituminous or sub- 

 bituminous in character. One other oc- 

 currence of anthracite is known in Colo- 

 rado, in the Yampa coal field, in the 

 northern part of Routt County. In this 

 locality the coal has been changed to an- 

 thracite by dikes and sheets of igneous 

 rock, and the field is very limited in 

 extent. 



In New Mexico a small field of an- 

 thracite occurs near Cerrillos, on the 

 Santa Fe Railroad. The field is small 

 and the anthracite is due to the baking 

 efl^ect of an intrusive sheet of igneous 

 rock. 



Utah claims a small field of anthracite 

 coal in Iron County, near the southwest- 

 ern corner of the state. It has not been 

 developed and little is known of its ex- 

 tent or value. 



In Washington a very small field of 

 anthracite occurs in the vicinity of a 

 large mass of igneous rock on Carbon 

 River, southeast of Tacoma. 



The largest anthracite field outside of 

 Pennsylvania occurs near Controller 

 Bay, in Alaska. In this field the change 

 in the character of the coal is said to be 

 not directly related to volcanic activity, 

 but to be due to the intense folding to 

 which the rocks have been subjected. 



At the present time anthracite is mined 

 in the west only in Gunnison County, 

 Colorado, and near Cerrillos, New Mex- 

 ico. 



Coking Coal. — Good coking coal is 

 scarce in the western fields. The prin- 

 cipal source of supply is the Raton, or 

 Trinidad, field, in southern Colorado and 

 northern New Mexico. Seventy per 

 cent of the coke produced in the western 



