Haydeii.] ^" [Februarj- 19, 



A mile below Hanging Rock a drift into tlie bank 20 feet beneath a bed 

 of conglomerate, discovered six inches of carbonaceous clay between two 

 beds of ash colored, somewhat sandy, indurated clay, each about 6 feet 

 thick. Below the coaly layer there are 2 inches of a material, which an 

 analysis shows to be composed of AVater 2.62, Volatile Matter 73.92, Ses- 

 quioxide 1.41, Lime 0.87, Magnesia trace, Sulphuric acid 0^7, Phospho- 

 ric acid a trace, Silica 59.14 — 99.80. 



From the mouth of Echo up the valley the rocks seem to form a sort of 

 gentle anticlinal for about 10 miles and then the inclination is reversed. 

 The general dip however is 5° to 15°, nearly north-west; but for 6 miles 

 below and 3 miles above Hanging rock it is increased to 25° and even to 35°. 



This formation, which differs somewhat lithologically from any with 

 which I am acquainted, must have an aggregate thickness of at least 3000 

 feet. The conglomerate portion must be at least 1 500 feet in thickness. 

 It includes beds of coal, and shows a few fossils, which are all either im- 

 pressions of deciduous trees or marine shells. 



Near Coalville, a little town in the valley of Weber river, 5 miles above 

 the mouth of Echo creek, coal outcrQps several times. At Spriggs' open- 

 ing the dip is 20° or 30° east ; and the coal bed about 15 feet thick ; capped 

 with gray sandstone, much of it charged with pebbles. I was informed 

 that in other places this pebbly sandstone rests directly on the coal bed. 

 A few hundred feet from Spriggs' opening, a shaft to strike the same bed 

 has T3een sunk 79 feet deep, through 12 feet of gravel and sand, into black 

 clay growing hairier downward, and holding numerous specimens of a 

 S])ecies ot Inocei-amus, Ostrea, a,nd Aminonites, showing that the black clays 

 are certainly of cretaceous age. If these beds do actually lie above the 

 coal as the dip would indicate, then this formation of doubtful age, ex- 

 tending from Quaking Asp Summit to Salt lake, must be cretaceous, and 

 some of the finest coal beds in the West are in rocks of that age.* 



The Weber river flows directly west and the rocks incline in a sort of 

 half circle between north and south. Several beds of massive sandstone 

 cap the high hills, and between them are layers of clay with a reddish 

 tinge. I was informed that there were in this section 6 or 7 beds of coal 

 varying in thickness from 18 inches to 15 feet. 



Passing down the Weber valley the dip would carry down the Coalville 

 coal beds, in a distance of 5 miles, that is, at Echo City, to a depth of from 

 1200 to 1500 feet beneath the surface. So that the coal area that can ever 

 be made available for economical purposes in this region must be very 

 limited. 



An interesting feature along the Weber river is its terraces. Near 

 Echo City there is a rather narrow bottom near the river ; then an abrupt 

 ascent of 30 feet ; then a level plain or bottom of 200 to 400 yards ; then 

 a gentle ascent to the rock bluffs. The summit of the first bluff at Echo 

 is 500 feet high ; it then slopes back to the plains beyond. 



Passing down the Weber valley, about a mile below Echo Station, the 

 beds begin to dip 25° N. E. The whole valley is filled with rounded 



[* Confirming the published opinions of Dr. Lc Conto and Dr. Newberry.— Editor.] 



