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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



duced from any of the Washington or 

 Vancouver Island coals, and equal to the 

 coke from Crow's Nest Pass. If an 

 important smelter industry grows up in 

 Alaska, as now seems possible, the 

 Alaska coking coals should have the ad- 

 vantage, both of quality and of transpor- 

 tation. 



Before they can be mined it will be 

 necessary to build about 150 miles of 

 railroad to reach the Matanuska coal, 

 and from 25 to 100 miles (according to 

 the harbor chosen) to reach the Bering 

 River coal. It is believed that either of 

 these projects is feasible, and that if 

 favorable title can be obtained both fields 

 will be producing on a large scale within 

 a few years. Railroads are now under 

 construction to both these fields. 



Mining developments in the Bering 

 River coal-fields of the Controller Bay 

 region and in the Matanuska coal-field of 

 the Cook Inlet region have been practi- 

 cally confined to surveys for patents, 

 assessment work, and trail building. The 

 most important features are connected 

 with the problem of railway construction. 



No patents for coal land have yet been 

 granted. 



The value of these high-grade fuels 

 of Alaska probably exceeds that of 

 the gold deposits, and the exploitation 

 of these coal-fields is of the greatest 

 importance to the entire western sea- 

 board of the continent. These coals will 

 furnish not only the high-grade steam 

 coals needed for various industries, but 

 also the coke for metallurgical enter- 

 prises. If the iron ores of the Territory 

 prove valuable, the west coast may yet be 

 supplied from this source with the raw 

 materials for the manufacture of iron 

 and steel. In any event, the copper 

 smelters can be provided with coke of a 

 high grade. 



The coals from other known Alaska 

 fields than these are so situated or are 

 of such quality that they can find markets 

 only where excessive rates on outside 

 coals give them an advantage ; that is, 

 their markets must be local and probably 

 small. These lignites and lower grade 

 bituminous coals have a wide distribution 



in Alaska, and some of them will have 

 great value to local industries. 



GREAT QUANTITIES OF P^AT 



Peat is very widely distributed in 

 Alaska, having been found in nearly 

 every part of the Territory. The cli- 

 matic conditions, as well as those of plant 

 life, in the central and northern parts of 

 the Territory, seem especially favorable 

 for the accumulation of peat. Every- 

 where the soil is clothed with a dense 

 growth of moss and other small plants, 

 and the frozen condition of the subsoil 

 and the shortness of the summer season 

 prevent decay. 



There is no information at hand on 

 which to base an estimate of the avail- 

 able supply of peat in Alaska. As it is 

 found in every part of the Territory, 

 however, and as the great tundras of the 

 north, occupying at least a quarter of the 

 Territory, appear to be nearly everywhere 

 underlain by peat of greater or less 

 thickness, the supply must be enormous, 

 and may equal if not exceed that of the 

 entire United States. 



In the presence of more easily avail- 

 able fuel there has been no occasion to 

 utilize any of the peat deposits, so that 

 little is known of their horizontal extent 

 or thickness. It is not uncommon, how- 

 ever, to see thicknesses of 15 to 30 feet 

 in natural or artificial exposures. The 

 surface layer of peat, which forms the 

 upper layer of the tundra, may not ex- 

 ceed a few feet in thickness, but locally 

 these accumulations are many times as 

 thick. 



COPPER AND PEACER MINING 



Alaska contains a large variety of 

 mineral deposits, and these, especially 

 gold and coal, are widely distributed. 

 The auriferous gravels are scattered over 

 a very large area, but much of it is un- 

 prospected. There are some large au- 

 riferous lode mines in southeastern 

 Alaska and promising lode prospects in 

 other parts of the Territory. 



Copper mining has been done in two 

 widely separated coastal districts. Very 

 promising deposits of copper ore occur 



