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The Geology and Coal Resources of the Coal-bearing Portion of Tazewell 
County, Virginia. By T. K. HARNSBERGER. Virginia Geologi- 
cal Survey, University of Virginia, Bull. No. 19. Prepared in 
co-operation with the U.S. Geological Survey. 1919. Pp. 195. 
This report deals with the coal resources of Tazewell County in 
southwestern Virginia. The surface rocks in the coal district belong 
to the Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian systems. All the 
commercially valuable coal is in the Pennsylvanian. 
The most prominent structural feature of the area is the Dry Forks 
anticline. The Pocahontas syncline and other folds occur in the region. 
The coal area is bounded on the southeast by a series of thrust faults. 
The Tazewell County coal field originally extended to the southeast 
far beyond its present limits but folds and faults lifted the coal-bearing 
rocks of the region to the southeast far above those of the present field 
and they have been removed by erosion. 
The total area of coal land is 696.5 square miles. The total thickness 
of the coal-bearing formations is about 2,800 feet, every portion of which 
is exposed in some part of the area. At least fifteen coal beds are 30 
inches or more in thickness over territory of sufficient extent to justify 
mining. In general the coal is of good coking quality and has a high ~ 
fuel value. Because of the extreme variability of the coal beds, plans 
for development should be preceded by careful geological examination. 
Complete descriptions of the various coal beds are given. Included in ~ 
the report are both a topographic and a geologic map of the coal area. 
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