CAHABA COAL FIELD: EUREKA BASIN. 69 
begins to become high close to Hillsboro, (formed by the 
roof rock of the Helena seam,) from thence continuing 
southwest almost over the synclinal of the Eureka basin; 
this ridge is generally called the Hillsboro Divide, the 
gorge of Beaver Dam Creek cutting through it. Quite a 
number of other smaller ridges run parallel with it—the 
Conglomerate ridge and others. 
The length of this basin is three miles, by an average 
width of one and eight-tenths miles. Its area is five and 
four-tenths square miles, and it contains, in seams of over 
two feet in thickness, and less than three thousand feet in 
vertical depth, 83,000,000 tons of workable coal, (2,000 
pounds,) without making any allowance for loss in pillars, 
or waste in mining. 
The form or strike of the measures and coal outcrops in 
the ends of this basin is quite in contrast to what is seen 
at the ends of the other basins in this coal field, viz: The 
measures at the north end are part of them bent sharply 
around at an acute angle; those at the south end are bent 
around forming a clearly defined right angle or very near 
it; the other basins show the measures and outcrops bend- 
ing around more gradually, some of them forming a half 
circle or fishhook shape. The lowest seam in this basin 
workable by slope, is the Wadsworth, the Nunnally seam 
being too close to the interior fault to allow of it being reli- 
able. The next workable seam above the Wadsworth is the 
Buck, then immediately above the Buck seam is the Black- 
shale ; both these seams are close to the Helena and Gur- 
nee branch of the Birmingham Mineral Railroad; above 
these seams and to the southeast of them are the Little 
Pittsburg seam, the Conglomerate seam, and the Helena 
seam. 
The Eureka Company are now working the Helena seam 
in this basin by means of a slope driven down from the 
outcrop to the southeast ; said slope is driven down to the 
synclinal of the basin and is now ascending the opposite 
dip. The workings in this slope prove the Helena seam to 
be a good seam of an average thickness of four feet of solid 
coal, with no slates or impurities except that about two or 
three inches of the middle of the seam is rather bony ; even 
