76 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
The Blocton Branch of the Birmingham Mineral Railroad 
passes through the western portion of the basin for a dis- 
tance of five miles, extending on to Gurnee, and, having a 
lease from the Brierfield, Blocton and Birmingham Road 
from Gurnee to Blocton, the same road is enabled to con- 
nect with Blocton. 
The principal workable seams of this basin are the Buck 
seam, Blackshale seam, Conglomerate seam, Helena seam, 
and the Montevallo seam. The Shute and the Coke seam 
are in workable condition southwest of this in the Dailey 
Creek basin, but in this basin, a thorough test along their 
outcrops will have to decide their condition for mining pur- 
poses. 
The rate of dip of these measures in this basin varies 
from 2° or 8° in that portion south of Dry Creek, to 80° at 
the south edge of the basin next to the Piney Woods fault. 
The measures on the west or northwest side have an inter- 
mediate rate of dip between the dips of the two previously 
mentioned points. 
The South and North and the Dailey Creek Vertical Section 
and the Dry Creek Horizontal Section from “K” to “L,” on 
the accompanying map, show the relative position of the 
seams of this basin. 
There has been no mining done in this basin except a lit- 
tle outcrop coal dug for blacksmith purposes by the farm- 
ers in the neighborhood, no underground work has been 
done in any part of it up to this date. 
There is an immense amount of coal nearly level in this 
basin with the advantage of two recently constructed rail- 
roads, now nearly finished, running through and alongside 
of it—the Brierfield, Blocton and Birmingham on the south 
edge of it, and the Birmingham Mineral in the northwest 
portion of it. This basin has been_a wild, sparsely settled 
country up to about twelve months ago ; two years ago no 
one lived in the interior of the basin; at that time the only 
settlers about it were Mrs. Draper and her son, D. D. 
Draper, Herve and Burt Carroll on the east boundary of 
the basin, Columbus Benton on the north boundary, and 
James Lindsey on the western boundary of the basin. This 
basin bids fair to become the scene of busy mining opera- 
tions in the near future. 
