500 The National Geographic Magazine 



known for the last three-quarters of a 

 century, commences at a point 25 miles 

 east of Cape Lisburne, and is continu- 

 ously exposed along the coast to Cape 

 Beaufort, a distance of 40 miles. It 

 contains the well-known Corwin and 

 Thetis mines, the location of which has 

 been shown on many recent maps of 

 Alaska. 



Geologic study shows that the Coal 

 Measures of these fields have a total 

 thickness of at least 1 5,000 feet and con- 

 tain not less than 40 beds of coal, each 

 over a foot thick. The aggregate thick- 

 ness of all the beds seen by Mr Collier 

 is over 150 feet. Eleven of them are 

 more than 4 feet thick and contain coal 

 of good quality. Analysis of samples 

 from some of the beds shows the prod- 

 uct to be low-grade bituminous coal. 

 A limited amount of coal has been 

 mined here since 1879 for whalers and 

 revenue cutters. Several cargoes were 

 mined in 1901 and sold at Nome mar- 

 kets for $18 and $20 a ton, in competi- 

 tion with Comax and Washington coal 

 at $25 a ton. 



None of the coal beds have been per- 

 manently developed. The coal pro- 

 duced was mined from the croppings 

 along the sea cliff and boated off to the 

 ships through the surf. There is no 

 harbor for vessels nor protection from 

 any but south winds. In 1903 a small 

 amount of coal, probably not exceeding 

 20 or 30 tons, was produced at the Cor- 

 win mine. In 1904 about 20 tons were 

 taken by the steamship Corwin, and 

 about 10 more tons were mined for con- 

 sumption at the Point Hope whaling 

 station. 



The second coal- bearing formation, 

 the Paleozoic, is also quite extensive 

 and is south of Cape Lisburne. Beds 

 over 4 feet in thickness occur. No 

 analysis of this coal has yet been made. 

 They are bituminous and of considera- 

 bly better grade than the Mesozoic coals 

 of the region. They are totally unde- 

 veloped. 



NOTICE 



MEMBERS of the National Geo- 

 graphic Society who possess 

 copies of the National Geographic 

 Magazine for January, March, April, 

 and October of this year (1904) and are 

 willing to dispose of them will confer a 

 favor by sending the copies to the offices 

 of the Society, Hubbard Memorial Hall. 

 Twenty cents will be paid for each copy 

 returned in good condition. 



Chart of the World. — The National 

 Geographic Magazine in the Janu- 

 ary number, which begins a new vol- 

 ume, will publish a chart of the world 

 showing all submarine cable systems 

 and connections and also the steamship 

 routes of the world. The chart is in 

 four colors and is 25 by 45 inches. It 

 was prepared by the Naval Hydro- 

 graphic Office and will be republished 

 by the National Geographic Maga- 

 zine through the courtesy of that office. 



John B. Hatcher, of the Carnegie Mu- 

 seum, Pittsburg, and the organizer and 

 leader of several expeditions to Patago- 

 nia, died in July, 1904. Mr Hatcher 

 was only 42, which makes his death all 

 the more deplorable. He was a mem- 

 ber of the National Geographic Society 

 and author of several papers on his work 

 in Patagonia, published in the Na- 

 tional Geographic Magazine and 

 in The American Journal of Science. 



A review of the laws forbidding the 

 pollution of inland waters in the United 

 States, which may be of great practical 

 benefit to the public, has been prepared 

 by Mr Edwin B. Goodell for the U. S. 

 Geological Survey. It is published as 

 No. 103 of the series of Water-Supply 

 and Irrigation papers, and may be ob- 

 tained by application to the Survey. 



The article on ** China/' by Hon. John 

 W. Foster, published in this number, is 

 the first of a series of papers to appear 

 in the National Geographic Maga- 

 zine on the subject of the Far East. 



