West Virginia sides of the Alleghany Coal-field. 285 
Virginia farther south, the interval is far greater, as will be 
shown. If we make a section across the whole coal-field, 
including the Ohio side of the synclinal axis, taking the general 
line of the Kanawha river, we find the southeastern side of that 
axis not only very much wider territorially, but also containing 
a much greater thickness or depth of productive coal-measures. 
The Pomeroy seam of coal, which I have shown in the Ohio 
Geological Reports to be identical with the Pittsburgh seam, 
ips to the southeast under the Kanawha river a little above its 
mouth. A few miles higher up the river, it reappears on the 
other side of the synclinal axis and has been identitied by Prof. 
W. B. Rogers and others. From this point we descend the 
geological series in going to Charleston, or perhaps to a point a 
little above Charleston, through an interval estimated to be 700 
feet. Professor Fontaine, who has contributed some valuable 
articles to the American Journal of Science on the Geology of 
est Virginia, writes me that he thinks it may be greater than 
this. From Charleston to the Kanawha falls we descend in the 
series from 1,100 to 1,200 feet. I measured the interval between 
the coarse conglomeratic sandrock of the falls and one of the 
Upper coal-seams on Cotton mountain, aseam which is believed 
to dip below the river a little above Charleston, and found it 
nearly 1,200 feet. Prof. Fontaine estimates 1,200 feet as the 
thickness of the coal-measures between the top of the conglome- 
Tatic sandrock of the falls and the southeastern outcrop of the 
Measures up New river. A thousand feet have been measured 
Guyandotte and of the Tug fork of Big Sandy lead me to the 
lef ina corresponding thickness of coal-measures 1n all that 
nee the most valuable range of bituminous coals in the 
hited States is-that belt, which, beginning upon EIk river, 
