80 
east of the Rocky Mountains is available, and no reliable estimates have been made 
of the areas underlaid by workable coal beds. It has been surmised that the total 
area of the coal-fields of this district is between 200,000 and 300,000 square miles, but 
this estimate is little more than a guess. 
The total production, exclusive of colliery consumption, in each State and Terri- 
tory, and corresponding value at the mines in 1886, are shown in the following 
tables: 






Total pro- 
ductionnot| Value of 
States and Territories. including coal at 
colliery con-| mines. 
| sumption. 
Short tons.| Dollars. 
COMRI® second desucgcocuad poSaccsuobSuEos SeoneoAs Iota Shooceocoscccosceccos 1, 368, 338 2, 215, 594 
ANY WOT Sa56 bond cece sBn EO Roo CB eHOE CODD D OS Soe nada aeasoUGabboce cecaaeaseSse 829, 355 2, 488, 065 
ING WIGS hh oetigie catene gabe de esooco Ss oHoSecaceseEascne.dnbS46 abesccabccdstease 271, 285 813, 855. 
LORY Cage 6bod06 ESO CON OUOUES BEE EAEb Gap er EBeSropadersmoseGuusabeos aseseupboods 200, 000 420, 000 
IMCOTIGAT Aree eae eee eee s oe cele cane els eee eee eee ea ee alee meee eeteetee 41, 846 174, 460 
Wd ah Onset oct Cocca oe cas ceria: cae ce se aie oe eee a een ete Son er ete eraser ee 1, 500 6, 000 
BO tabliemee tecec cies coclesiccee 5. D0 CO OOOO GOOD DEDSanRSUbOSotE Spe sccane 56Ghae 2, 720,324 | 7,117,974 



In the Rocky Mountain region the production of coal is dependent exclusively upon 
the demand of the local trade. This varies not only on account of the growth and 
decline of the local industries, but upon the variable freight tariffs which have per- 
mitted the importation to Rocky Mountain points of more distant and superior coals ~ 
at prices advantageous to the consumer. 
Colorado.—The general prosperity of Colorado in 1886 has in no way been better 
shown than in the great development of the coal-fields of the State, although this 
development was begun too late to show a very great increase in the production for 
1886 over 1885. While the mines in the northeastern portion of the State have only 
held their own, those of southeastern Colorado have materially increased their out- 
put in response to the steadily increasing demand from points in western Kansas and 
Nebraska. The greatest amount of new work has been done, however, west of Pitkin 
and the Continental Divide, in what is known as the Glenwood field. 
Noteworthy discoveries of coking coal have also been made in Gunnison County, on 
Ohio Creek, and of anthracite of good quality, ina region where its existence has only 
been suspected—the basalt-covered tract southwest of Haln’s Peak, in Routt County. 
The more remote coal-fields, although known to produce excellent coals of varying qual- 
ities, have been hitherto neglected, because of the remote prospect of railway com- 
munication, which is necessary to bring their product into competition with that 
from well-opened mines. 
The great activity in railway building in the direction of Garfield, Routt, and Pit- 
kin Counties has spurred on the work of opening the coal beds in these counties, in 
order to meet the demand which the completion of the three railways now being built 
in that direction will bring. Thesuperior quality of the coke made from the coal from 
the minesin Pitkin and Garfield Counties, and the accessibility, low altitude, and thick- 
ness of the beds in the anthracite districts of Routt County will meet a commercial 
demand from the smelting and manufacturing centers of Colorado, and also from 
those in the adjoining States and Territories. 
Total product of mines operated in the interest of railways iu Colorado for 1886 was 
1,115,267 tons; increase of 0.7 per cent. over 1885. The increase in railway produe- 
tion is very slight indeed. The coal area has been variously estimated at from 20,000 
to 50,000 square miles. ‘The known and partially developed coal-fields cover about 
1,000 square miles, while the area of the Laramie, Fox Hills, and Colorado cretaceous 
fonaione! which are coal-bearing, comprises about one-third of the surface of the 
State, or approximately 35,000 square miles, 

