308 Notice of the Antln-acite Region in the 



Art. XIV. — Kotice of the Anthracite Region in the Valley of the 

 Lackawanna and of Wyoming on the Susquehanna. — Editor. 



The Anthracite coal formations of this country have become very 

 interesting to Science, to the arts, and to domestic economy. Hav- 

 ing recently, at the request of many of the inhabitants, visited and 

 examined the valley of Wyoming and of the Lackawanna, 1 have 

 drawn up for their use, a notice of the Anthracite coal of this region 

 the substance of which, in the popular form in which it was written, 

 is subjoined, with some additional observations. 



In the discharge of this duty, I have received every possible as- 

 sistance from the zeal and kindness of the gentlemen of the valley, 

 as well as of the scientific friends* who accompanied me through the 

 mines and mountains. 



In the remarks which I now offer, I lay no claim to discoveries; 

 these were made before, and some of them long ago ; I aim, to pre- 

 sent only a few general views, and shall allude to particular interests, 

 only so far as they are subservient to general conclusions. 



The anthracite region of the Susquehanna is between sixty and sev- 

 enty miles long and about five broad ; that portion which I have 

 particularly examined is forty miles in length, and although distin- 

 guished as the vallies of the Wyoming and Lackawanna, it is, in re- 

 ality, without a natural division, and constitutes but one formation. In 

 exploring it, upon both sides, and by many sections and windings, we 

 traversed at least one hundred and twenty miles, and although a 

 longer familiarity with this region might have led to more precision, I 

 trust that no important error will be found in the following statement. 



It is well known, that there are three principal regions of Anthracite 

 coal in Pennsylvania, namely, on the Schuylkill, on the Lehigh, and 

 on the Susquehanna ; the two latter I have visited, and the former, 

 from want of time to complete the tour, as originally projected, is 

 reserved for a future opportunity. The region of the Schuylkill is 

 therefore unavoidably omitted on the present occasion. In another 

 paper, in the next No. of this Journal, I shall say something of Mauch 

 Chunk, and the Schuylkill will be remembered whenever it is in my 

 power to visit that region. 



* Prof. Ed. Hitchcock, of Amherst College, and Mr. George Jones, Senior tutor 

 in Yale Colleae. 



