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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



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AIvASKA UGNITE COAI., e:XPOSe:d FOR THRKE) Y5:arS TO WE:ATHE:RING AND SHOWING 



resistance: 



nite briquet machine which is being used 

 in the government tests is a huge affair 

 and simply exerts enormous pressure on 

 the Hgnite, the constituency of which is 

 such that a soHd, dense briquet is formed, 

 whicli makes an admirable fuel. Lignite, 

 converted into cheap briquets, will keep 

 indefinitely and bear transportation. The 

 gas producer has made lignite a great 

 possibility in industrial development ; the 

 briquetting machine promises to raise it 

 into the class of a highly valuable domes- 

 tic and heating fuel. 



ENORMOUS EIGNITE AREAS AND TONNAGE 



While the older coal fields of the 

 Appalachian region may for some time 

 lead in production, the advent and the 

 continued improvement of the gas pro- 

 ducer capable of utilizing the lower- 

 grade fuels will have an important bear- 

 ing on the distribution of industrial 

 activities. With this feature in mind it 

 will be of interest to inquire into the 

 extent of these h'^tle-known lignite coals. 



The latest field investigations of the 



United States Geological Survey show 

 that North Dakota has an area of 31,240 

 square miles — 19,993,600 acres — under- 

 lain with lignite. In much of the field 

 there are several beds or seams, some- 

 times a dozen, one below the other. The 

 tonnage of the State is placed at the 

 stupendous total of 500,000,000,000 tons. 

 As compared with this, the total tonnage 

 estimated for the great coal fields of 

 Pennsylvania, both anthracite and bitu- 

 minous, is 112,500,000,000, and the im- 

 portance of the advent of the gas pro- 

 ducer is recognized when it is realized 

 that every ton of the North Dakota coal 

 has more driving power, utilized in the 

 gas engine, than a ton of the very best 

 of the Pennsylvania coal used in steam 

 plants. 



Montana will be a rich field for the 

 gas plant, since she has an estimated 

 300,000,000,000 tonnage of lignite and 

 low-grade bituminous coal, as well as 

 some high-grade coal. In the San Juan 

 field of New Mexico the Survey geolo- 

 gists estimate over 130,000,000,000 tons 



