260 



PENNSYLVANIA. 



access to the eastern markets. The Lackawanna and Wyonn'ng coais are of the harder variety, 

 more difBcult of ignition than the Schuylkill coals, but yielding an intense, durable heat. 



Quantity of Anthracite brought to Market from 1830 to 1S38. 





Lehigh. 



Schuylkill. 



Lackawanna. 



Total. 



1830 .... 



Tons. 41 ,750 



89,084 



42,000 



173,734 



1831 



40,!)GG 



81,854 



.54,000 



176,820 



1832 . 



75,000 



2();»,271 



84.500 



367,771 



1833 



123,000 



250,588 



111,777 



485,365 



1834 .... 



106,000 



226.692 



42,700 



375,392 



1835 



131,250 



335',685 



90,600 



557,535 



1836 .... 



140,502 



443,754 



106,270 



696,526 



1837 









860,770 



The southwestern part of this geological region contains bituminous coal of good quality ; the 

 coal-seams of Broad Top Mountain and of Will's Mountain are about 6 feet in thickness, but 

 they have yet been little worked. Salt springs also occur in this section. Iron-ore is abun- 

 dant through the whole tract between the Blue Mountain and the Alleghany, and is generally 

 found in the limestones, but it occurs also in some of the slates ; some of the deposits are of 

 enormous thickness. The ores are hematites and hydrates, some being of the variety called 

 pipe-ore, which is easily smelted, and yields a high percentage of excellent metal. 



The portion of the State west of the Alleghany escarpment, forms the northwestern angle of 

 the vast bituminous coal formation, which occupies a large part of the Mississippi Valley. As 

 the rocks have a general dip towards the west, the coal-fields of the eastern part occupy only 

 the more elevated spots, and they occur in detached basins ; such are the Towanda, Bloss- 

 burg, Wellsboro, and Lycoming Creek basins, which once formed continuous beds, but are 

 now insulated by the wearing down of the surface of the ancient table-lands, and the washing 

 away of the intermediate portions of the coal-beds. The seams here are commonly five in 

 number, comprised within a thickness of from 100 to 150 feet ; about three of these are of 

 sufficient thickness to be worked, averaging about three feet. Further west, the coal is found 

 in almost every county, in vast fields, often presenting numerous seams lying one above another, 

 in the cliffs of the ravines and river-valleys. The annual consumption in Pittsburg is about 

 250,000 chaldrons ; about 150,000 are used at the salt-works on the Alleghany, Kiskiminetas, 

 Monongahela, &c., and a good deal is carried down the Ohio and Mississippi. Rich deposits 

 of nodular argillaceous iron-ore are extensively distributed throughout this region, associated 

 with beds of limestone and seams of coal, offering every facility for its conversion into metal 

 Salt is also extensively diffused in brine-springs, and is advantageously manufactured at various 

 localities ; the sandstones and shales from which the brine is drawn, are of more recent date 

 than those of the New York springs, belonging to the carboniferous series. The quantity an 

 nually produced here is estimated at 1,000,000 bushels. Petroleum or Seneca oil, and carbu 

 retted hydrogen, appear in many places ; sulphur, and alum, saltpetre, and copperas earths occur 



9. Mineral Springs. The Bedford Springs, near the town of that name, among the moun 

 tains in the south of the State, were discovered in 1804. They arise from a limestone rock 

 at the foot of a mountain. The water is cold, odorless, soft, and agreeable to the taste ; it is 

 charged with iron, magnesia, and lime, and is efficacious in removing cutaneous and chronic 

 complaints. There are several salt springs in the State, which are noticed under the head of 

 minerals. 



10. Caves. In the Laurel Mountain, is a cavern with a very narrow entrance, and varioui 

 winding passages, which has been traversed two miles. It is formed of a soft sandstone, and 

 Its roof is covered with millions of bats. At Durham, in Bucks county, on the Delaware, is a 

 cave in the limestone rock, abounding with pools and rivulets of water. At Carlisle, is another, 

 somewhat similar, in which human bones have been discovered, probably of the aborigines. 



11. Vegetable Productions. In this respect, Pennsylvania differs little from the interior of 

 New York. The forests which cover so large a portion of the State, furnish immense quanti- 

 ties of timber trees. 



12. Face of the Country. The level district on the east of the mountains is but a small pro 

 portion of the whole State. The mountainous country may be described as an elevated table- 

 land, surmounted by numerous parallel ridges. The country west of the mountains is compara 

 lively leva' 



