14 GEOLOGICAL SUBVEY OF ALABAMA. 



all consecutive order obliterated, even in the intervening 

 ledges of rock. 



On the southeast side of the high vertical wall of conglom- 

 erate rocks, the rocks are compact, and vertical for one hun- 

 dred and fifty to two hundred feet, then gradually assume a 

 southeast dip with diminishing angles to the base of the 

 mountain. A slight southeast dip continues for varying 

 distances still farther to the southeast. Along the southeast 

 side of the mountain, and especially near its base, seams of 

 coal have been exposed, but all of irregular thickness, due 

 evidently to greater or less compression, and also varying 

 in strike from place to place. Some of this coal has been 

 used in the shops, and with very satisfactory results; but 

 all of these seams are too highly inclined to be mined to ad- 

 vantage; neither could any of these seams be certainly 

 identified with those lying farther to the southeast. That 

 they belong to that base group of productive measures lying 

 above the second comglomerate is very evident, and probably 

 near the middle of the group, and certainly beloiv the fourth 

 conglomerate, may be regarded as settled, but this is the 

 closest approximation to their proper geological position as 

 yet attained. The reason of all this will be apparent when 

 the fact is considered that while this Straight Mountain is 

 merely a fold of the coal measures, yet some portions of 

 them are probably hidden by faulting, and that about 3,000 

 feet of strata are here compressed into a space of 700 to 

 1,000 feet horizontal measure, hence great compression, 

 distortion, and displacement, necessarily resulted. These 

 facts having been recognized, no further effort was made to 

 develop, or study the Straight Mountain coals, and hence 

 they are not included within the productive area of this 

 coal field. 



Also on the opposite, or southeastern side of this field is 

 considerable area of lower or sub-conglomerate coal meas- 

 ures, which though they carry, at least in places, several 

 seams of coal, yet all probably too thin to be of any practi- 

 cal value, and are hence not included here as productive 



